


a sky filled with gray clouds.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: eternal sunshine and the threat of darkness. [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Female Friendship, Friendship, Love, Major Character Injury, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Marriage, Mentions of Slavery, Novella, Relationship(s), Royalty, Wordcount: 30.000-50.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22233127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: “On behalf of my beloved nephew's parents, the Duke and Duchess, I offer up congratulations,” Luke said, but before he could say another word, everything was suddenly bathed in shadow.Ben immediately looked up at the skies, and when he saw nothing but gray clouds, he realized that something had happened.or:  After the attempt by Lord Snoke to change the skies from eternal sunshine to darkness was stopped and the Kyber crystals destroyed, the land of Galactica believed that the skies would stay sunshine forever.  But now, they were nothing but gray clouds, and this change to the magic of the skies has everyone puzzled because they cannot figure out how it happened or who could have done it.  Prince Ben is settling into newly married life with his wife Rey, but he is resisting the idea of retiring from the Royal Guard.  And who are these raiders that the Guard has been unable to stop and where are they from?
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: eternal sunshine and the threat of darkness. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1597717
Comments: 28
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Grey_Summers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grey_Summers/gifts).



> The first story was a wedding present for my best friend Scarlett, but this sequel is just a present for you, my dear. Thank you for always telling me my ideas aren't awful and for helping me work out things when I'm having problems doing so. I know you already know a lot of what's going to happen in this, but there's a lot you don't know too. 
> 
> This will make more sense if you've read the first one.
> 
> What do you do when you kill off the saga's big bads in the first story? You get creative. Thanks for existing, Allegiant General Pryde.
> 
> I don't believe there is anything in here that requires the Graphic Description of Violence tag, but there is a battle where someone is injured, so be forewarned.
> 
> The first one was more Rey's story, this one more Ben's. It is bigger and darker than the first, as all sequels should be. As always, if you like what you read, please let me know via a comment, a kudos, or a bookmark so that I know I'm not writing into a void. enjoy!

**.prologue**

On Galactica, there was once light and dark.

When the Jedi tribes first settled on the planet, the sun rose high in the sky to provide sunshine and then set every night to plunge the world into darkness. The Jedi believed in a Force that bound the universe together, and frightened of the dark after spending so much time in the void of space looking for a new home, to that Force they prayed, asking them to provide them with guidance to the right spells that would turn the sky permanently to the light. One of the tribes, the Sith, could not understand why the rest of the Jedi wanted to do this. They had found a comfort and beauty in the darkness and instead found the light to be off-putting, and they prayed for a way to turn the skies to constant darkness. When the Jedi were successful and the skies turned to eternal sunshine, the Sith separated from them and went in search of a place where darkness still fell. 

They found the mountains in what is now called the Unknown Regions, and they prayed to the Force once more. The Force guided them to the right spell to turn the sky above the mountains to constant darkness, but the Sith did not want to stop there. Dwelling only in the mountains was not something they wanted to have to do, so they made several attempts at changing the rest of the planet's skies to darkness as well. Some were more successful than others, but every time they made progress, the Jedi would just recast their spells and turn everything to eternal sunshine again. In time, the Sith made peace with the fact that they were destined to dwell in the mountains and enjoyed the beauty of the constant black above them.

Thousands of years later, Lord Sheev Palpatine had been reading an old manuscript in his family's library one evening when he came upon a passage that surprised him. It was an account from someone who had read one of the remaining texts that belonged to the first Jedi tribes, and in the account was the story of how the skies were once light and dark at various times. Knowing that the only place on the planet where the sky was dark was the Unknown Regions, Sheev was amazed to learn that once upon a time, the entire planet was plunged into darkness. He had long been curious about the magic of the skies but had grown disillusioned with all of the Churches of the Force that people flocked to, constantly praying and thanking the Force for the light, only for him to now learn that the constant sunshine was blocking out the darkness that the planet should be experiencing. It made him angry. 

Why should a group of long-dead men keep them from experiencing what nature had intended?

Sheev knew that his father wanted him to go to Coruscant and become a knight, but he asked for one year to go exploring before he signed up for the Imperial Guard. His father granted his request and Sheev set out on a journey for some answers. Wherever he went, he found none, so he decided to head for the Unknown Regions, hoping to find a clue for why the skies there were constantly dark. If the whole planet had once been light and dark, and everywhere but there was bathed in sunshine, then that meant something had been done to cast the skies over those treacherous mountains into permanent darkness.

When he reached the Unknown Regions, he found the mountains to be more treacherous than he'd been expecting. He realized that an animal was tracking his movements, and he went into a cave to try and lose it. He found himself surrounded by crystals, and he knew from the manuscript he'd been reading that they were likely Kyber crystals. Kyber crystals had been used to cast the magic that turned the skies to eternal sunshine, and he wondered if perhaps they'd been used to cast the skies above him to eternal darkness. 

He stayed in the cave as he heard the animal move around outside of it, but then he heard the animal let out a loud howl before falling silent. Voices followed moments later, and Sheev made his way out of the cave to find members of a tribe there, and he wondered if perhaps these were the descendants of the Sith. Talking with them confirmed his suspicions, and when they asked what he was doing in the mountains, Sheev told them that he was seeking a way to turn the skies to eternal darkness. The members of the tribe told him to accompany them back to their settlement, and Sheev thought he was getting somewhere. 

The current members of the Sith tribe were headed by a man named Bane, and Bane talked with Sheev for a while before coming to the conclusion that Sheev was the man that had been prophesied by a cleric hundreds of years before.

Bane thought Sheev was the Chosen One.

Sheev had no idea about this prophecy but told Bane that he was correct, he was the Chosen One, and he had come to learn the secrets of the Sith. Bane took him back to the cave personally, explained what the Kyber crystals truly were to him, and then placed a book into his hands, telling Sheev that all of the spells necessary for undoing what the Jedi had done and then replacing it with what the Sith had accomplished were inside of it. Sheev thanked Bane for providing him with the information and said he would send a messenger when it was time to cast the spells, and they parted ways. On his way back out of the mountains, Sheev left clues as to where the cave was so when the time was right, the Kyber crystals could be accessed. 

Sheev joined the Imperial Guard upon his return from his journey, and he quickly became the best swordfighter that the Guard had. He developed a reputation for being unable to be killed in a battle and earned the trust of the head of the Guard, and soon Emperor Plagueis had promoted him to his council. Now that he had gotten himself to the heart of things, Sheev decided it was time to put his plan motion. 

He requested an audience with Emperor Plagueis and once the doors of the Throne Room were shut behind him, he approached the throne. Emperor Plagueis was talking to him about the plans for a training exercise when Sheev suddenly grabbed his sword and plunged it straight into the Emperor's heart. By the time that someone else came into the Throne Room, Plagueis was dead on the ground and Sheev was sitting on the throne. The reign of Emperor Palpatine had begun.

After a while, he sent a messenger into the Unknown Regions to find the Sith, and the messenger told Bane that Sheev had requested the help of the Sith in turning the skies into darkness. Bane quickly gathered all the members of his tribe and followed the messenger out of the mountains, where they came face to face with a company of the Imperial Guard. Bane thought they were there to escort them to Coruscant but instead, the Guard slaughtered both them and the messenger, taking the secret of what Sheev planned to do to their graves. 

Once the Sith had been slaughtered, the company of the Guard got to work. They followed the clues that Emperor Palpatine had given them until they found the cave, and then they began to mine the crystals. When the first batch of crystals reached Coruscant, the knight that was in charge of the mining informed the Emperor and was told what the crystals were for. Lord Pryde agreed with the idea of eternal darkness immediately and the Emperor swore him to secrecy. No one else could know about what the crystals were really for. Lord Pryde kept to his word as more and more shipments came into the capital, and when the skies began to darken, he held his tongue still. As a reward for a job well done, Emperor Palpatine gifted Lord Pryde with a copy of the book that contained all of the spells he was to perform to keep in the Pryde family library, a symbol of the great achievement that he had helped bring about.

But Emperor Palpatine grew too complacent, and in his quest to bring Galactica to eternal darkness, he said the wrong thing in front of a knight of the Red Guard, his bodyguards. The knight went investigating and found the crystals, and he stole one and went to the head of the Imperial Guard. Three days later, Emperor Palpatine was dead and the mining of the crystals was stopped. The Emperor's killer Anakin Skywalker took the throne as tradition dictated, the book that Emperor Palpatine had been using was destroyed, and once the skies were bright again, the people of Galactica believed that the attempt to undo the magic of the skies was stopped forever. The knights that had been mining the crystals all claimed that they'd had no idea what the crystals had been meant for, and King Anakin pardoned them. He viewed them as little more than innocent pawns in Emperor Palpatine's game, and he did not believe they should be imprisoned for it.

But Lord Pryde still had the book that Emperor Palpatine had given him.

Lord Pryde had a young son named Enric, and he would spend hours telling Enric about the Unknown Regions, the Kyber crystals, and the beauty of darkness and the small points of light that the Sith had called stars. Enric was fascinated by his father's stories and asked to go to the Unknown Regions despite not being ten-years-old. Lord Pryde told his son to be patient and that when he was old enough, they would go to the Unknown Regions together. Enric would go to sleep at night and dream of darkness, imagine stars, and then wake up and wait for the day that Galactica's destiny to fall under the cloak of darkness came.

When Enric grew old enough, instead of taking him to the Unknown Regions, Lord Pryde sent his son to Coruscant to become a knight. Enric grew to be a respected knight until age sent him back to the family home in Alsakan. His father was disappointed that Enric had never married or fathered a child, but Enric had only ever been focused on one thing and that was darkness. When Lord Pryde grew ill and knew he was going to die, he called Enric to him and placed a book in his hand. Enric opened it to find spells written on every page, and his father leaned as close to him as he could before whispering in his ear.

“These are the spells that Emperor Palpatine used. Take them and find a way to fulfill Galactica's destiny. Pray to the Force and succeed where I have failed.”

Enric was shocked that his father had been in possession of this book the entire time, but instead of questioning him on why they had never gone to the Unknown Regions to finish what Emperor Palpatine had started, he focused on the more pressing matter of his father and his health. Lord Pryde died not long after and Enric did not touch the book again until the period of mourning was over. Enric, now the new Lord Pryde, spent time reading through the spells, and he realized that none told what the outcome of the spell was. He wondered how he was supposed to know which spells to do, and he read through them again before determining that the spells must be done in order.

Just as Enric was preparing to find a way into the Unknown Regions, he heard word that Lord Snoke felt the same as he did about Galactica's destiny. Not completely certain that he was correct and knowing that if he was wrong Snoke could turn him into the Royal Guard, he took the risk anyway, traveling to Snoke's house and requesting an audience with him. When one was granted, he brought up the subject of Galactica's destiny being that of eternal darkness, and Snoke immediately agreed with him. Enric was relieved that his risk had paid off. He pulled the book from his bag and showed Snoke what his father had left him. Snoke was excited by what he read, and as he was far more versed in the ways of magic, they decided that Snoke would be the one to perform the spells. Deciding to leave as quickly as possible for the Unknown Regions, Snoke gathered together enough men to form a small company and they traveled so they could find the cave that Emperor Palpatine had come across.

When Enric saw the dark skies and the points of light within them, he could not stop himself from thinking that it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He was even more determined to make sure that he could bask in the beauty of darkness all the time.

Once the cave was found and the crystals discovered within it, Enric and Snoke were thrilled that they could fulfill Galactica's destiny once and for all. Realizing that a distraction was needed while the crystals were being mined, they raised an army and began to train them for an assault on Coruscant. Small companies of those deemed expendable were sent to attack the capital in order to keep the Guard's focus on them and not what was happening in the Unknown Regions. When enough crystals were mined, Snoke began to use the spells. As the magic of the skies weakened, the army grew stronger, and soon, Snoke felt they were ready for the final assault on Coruscant. He decided he would lead the army himself, and Enric was left behind, tasked with finding more Kyber crystals to finish the spells with. Snoke did not believe that there were enough remaining in the cave to complete all the spells necessary.

Enric traveled deeper into the Unknown Regions looking for a new cave, and he came upon the settlements of a tribe that he learned was called the Ren. He asked their leadership what they knew about the crystals, and they told him that there was a cave not that far from them that was full of the crystals he was searching for. They asked Enric why he wanted them, and when he told them that he wanted to turn the skies of Galactica to eternal darkness, a deal was struck. A party of six would accompany Enric to the cave, and all the Ren's warriors would be knighted and considered elite among Snoke's new Royal Guard. A messenger arrived before they could set off for the cave, informing Enric that Snoke and his army had been slaughtered. Enric's happiness quickly turned to anger, and he killed the messenger before declaring that he must be the one the Force had chosen to fulfill Galactica's destiny. He told the leaders of the Ren that once the skies were dark, he would return and gather all of their warriors and then they would march on Coruscant together.

The six men took Enric to the cave and showed him the crystals. Determined that this would work, he had the men help him mine several of the crystals before he realized that he would need a distraction as well. He knighted the men despite having no authority to do so, and he declared that they would be a special company of elite warriors that would be known as the Knights of Ren. The men were humbled by Enric's belief in them and told him they would serve him in any way possible, and Enric told them to go out into the countryside and terrorize and kill at will. The men, warriors that had not seen battle, were hungry for it and happy to do so. In Enric's eyes, this plan would keep the Guard busy and allow him the time to undo the magic of the skies.

After the knights left him, Enric got to work preparing the crystals for the spells as Snoke had done. When he felt that they were ready, he opened up the book to the first spell, took a deep breath, and spoke the incantation. The crystals glowed and then melted just as they had for Snoke, but the result was something that Enric did not expect, and looking at the sky above him, he had no idea how to fix it.


	2. Chapter 2

**.1**

Ben had never been more grateful for sunshine. The wedding celebration had moved outside so that the villagers could help fete him and Rey after the marriage ceremony had ended, and as Ben looked over at his new wife, he couldn't help but smile. The bright sunshine above them was reflecting off the jewels that hung around her neck and adorned her hair, giving her an ethereal glow. The long lace dress she wore was a pristine shade of white, and the moment he'd seen her for the first time, he'd thought she'd never looked more beautiful. 

It had been almost a year and a half since the day that he'd met her, and he'd spent a year of it falling deeply in love. The months of planning afterward had given him a headache at times, but his mother was insistent that he know what was happening before this special day. Now that the day had come, now that he was seeing the way the village was decorated, now that he was hearing the music and watching the dancing, he knew that all those headaches had been worth it.

They'd planned the perfect day. 

He looked around and smiled as he spotted the people that meant the most to him interspersed among the guests. They had given their friends the day off, so Finn and Rose were sitting with Jannah, the Master of his household, and Ben could see them talking jovially. He saw two of his father's best friends, Duke Lando of Calrissian and Duke Chewbacca of Kashyyyk, talking with members of the noble houses, and he could not wait to speak with them properly once the day was over. He wanted the two men he considered to be uncles to meet Rey and learn just how much he loved the woman who was now his wife. 

Poe was there as well, speaking with Lord Temmin Wexley as his eyes traveled over the crowd. Ben suppressed a chuckle. That was Poe, always on alert for a threat. When he noticed Snap's eyes sweep the crowd as well, he knew that the promotion of one of their good friends to the job once held by that traitor Hux had been the right one. Ben continued to look around and his gaze fell on Master Yoda and his fellow historian Master Kanata. Yoda had a quill in his hand, a book in his lap, and Ben smiled at the fact that he was recording the day's events for history. Someone would read that book in a thousand years and learn about Rey and this day, and that made Ben happy.

He reached for Rey's hand and she smiled at him, and he brought it up to his lips for a kiss. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

Rey nodded. “This has been the best day of my life. Thank you, Ben.”

“There is no need to thank me,” Ben said softly. “We did this together.”

“I am not going to get into how you saved me because you already know that tale. That is why I'm thanking you. Without that, none of this would have happened.”

“I feel that the Force brought us together. It would have brought us together no matter what had happened.”

Before another word could be said, the song came to an end and applause broke out from those who were gathered, the dancers bowing before them. Luke stood and drew everyone's attention to him, and Ben gave Rey another smile before turning towards his uncle. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, I offer my thanks to you all for attending the celebration on this wonderful and momentous day,” Luke said, and applause rang out again. “This day is not only about the heir to the throne marrying, but a day about my beloved nephew marrying a most fantastic woman. Rey is someone that I want you to come to know well, for she is the perfect woman to join my family. She will one day make a wonderful queen.”

Ben turned to Rey and grinned, and Rey grinned back. It meant so much to him to know how accepted she had become by his uncle who was once so wary of their match. 

“On behalf of my beloved nephew's parents, the Duke and Duchess, I offer up congratulations,” Luke said, but before he could say another word, everything was suddenly bathed in shadow.

Ben immediately looked up at the skies, and when he saw nothing but gray clouds, he realized that something had happened. Everyone began talking loudly about what was happening as Poe and Snap stood up and started shouting at the knights guarding the celebration, telling them to search the fields around the village for any signs of an incoming attack. Members of the King's Guard surrounded the high table and one told Luke that the Royal Family needed to go into the castle for safety, and Luke called out to the gathered guests. 

“I want everyone to gather inside the castle wall until it is deemed safe. An immediate council meeting is to be had to figure out what has happened. Lando, Chewie, I want you to be a part of that. And everyone, please try to stay calm. Panic will not help anything.”

People began to move as Luke climbed down from the high table, helping Leia down right after him. Han followed and then took Leia's arm, and the three of them began to make their way towards the castle. Ben stood and helped Rey do the same, and then they slowly got down off the high table as well. Finn, Rose, and Jannah were standing there once they were, and Ben smiled at all of them before turning to Rey and giving her a kiss.

“Please care for my wife until I return,” he asked them, and the three of them nodded.

“We will take her to her chambers, Your Royal Highness,” Jannah said, and Ben shook his head. 

“How many times must I tell you to call me Ben, Jannah?”

“At least once more, as always.”

“Ben!” came Han's voice, and Ben kissed Rey one more time before walking away.

Rey looked up at the sky as he did before turning her attention back the three in front of her. “Help me walk?”

“Of course, Rey,” Finn said, taking her arm. 

“I'll get your train worked out,” Rose said, walking behind her.

“And I'll make sure the path is clear, Your Royal Highness,” Jannah said, looking around.

“Call me Rey, please, Jannah,” she said, and once Rose said that the train was straight, they began to move.

“I am concerned about what has happened,” Rey said as they approached the castle. “There is a reason the skies have just changed to clouds.”

“I'm sure there is, but you should not be worried about such things today,” Finn told her. “This day should be all about you and Ben.”

“But because of the skies, now it is not,” Rey pointed out. 

“It is a momentary problem, I am sure. Master Yoda will just cast the spell again and the skies will return to sunshine,” Finn said, smiling at her as they entered the castle and began to walk down the main hallway. “It is nothing to worry about.”

“Everything concerning the skies is something to worry about,” Rey said, shaking her head. “But I suppose you are right. Once Master Yoda casts the spell again, all will be well.”

“It is a shame that it happened on this day though,” Rose said from behind them.

“Yes, it is a great shame,” Jannah said. “I was quite enjoying the celebration.”

“So was I,” Rey said as they approached her chambers. “But there is nothing to be done about it now.”

Jannah opened the door and two attendants came rushing towards them. “We have returned from the celebration.”

“I thought it was supposed to last much longer,” Sabine said, coming up to Rey as she walked inside.

“It was,” Rey said, smiling at her. “But there is a problem with the skies again, so the celebration has ended prematurely.”

“A problem with the skies?” Ahsoka asked. “I thought that was not possible again.”

“So did we all, but something has happened,” Rey said as they made it into the sitting room. 

“Shall we get you out of the dress then, Your Royal Highness?” Sabine asked, and Rey stood there for a moment before she recognized that Sabine was talking to her.

This Your Royal Highness stuff was going to take some getting used to.

“I suppose that is prudent,” Rey said. “Sitting down in it is most difficult.”

“Then allow us to help you,” Ahsoka said, gathering up the dress's train. 

Rey followed Sabine into the dressing room and allowed them to help her take the dress off. She was still getting used to the fact that there were ladies who would help her do that too. But, given the dresses that she must wear in this new role, she was glad for it despite all of the reservation she still had at the thought that these ladies would see her undressed. Once the dress was off, Ahsoka picked out a much more casual one while Sabine got to work on hanging the dress up, and Ahsoka helped Rey into the new dress.

She thanked the two ladies and then went back to the sitting room, finding Finn, Rose, and Jannah standing there talking. “Shall we sit and have tea until Ben gets back?” Rey asked. “That would be a good way to pass the time.”

“I think that sounds nice,” Rose said, and Finn nodded.

“I will go get some then.”

“No,” Rey said before he could make a move. “You are not working today, Finn.”

Finn smiled at her. “No, I suppose I am not.”

Rey called out for an attendant and one whose name she did not yet remember came in, and she asked her to get tea for all of them. She motioned for everyone to sit down and she settled herself into a chair, reaching for her hand and playing with the rings that resided there. She was used to the weight of the engagement ring that Ben had given her, but the wedding band that now accompanied it would take some getting used to. “Is it wrong of me to say that I am glad that this day is finally here for now it will soon be gone?”

Jannah laughed. “I think that His Royal Highness probably feels the same way.”

Rey shook her head. “Do just call him Ben, Jannah. He'd like it better that way.”

“I was assigned to work for him and that is what I do in the most respectful manner that I can,” Jannah said. “I do not want anyone to feel offended because of something I say or do. I am most careful of that.”

“That does not mean that you cannot call him by his name if that was what he requested,” Rey pointed out. “Nor does that mean that you cannot call me by mine now that I am married to him. You have called me Rey until this day, Jannah. I want you to call me Rey still.”

“I will take that under consideration, Your Royal Highness,” Jannah said, making Rey smile. 

“That is all I can ask of you, I suppose.”

“You may be glad that the day will soon be gone, Rey, but you and Ben looked so happy when you were pronounced man and wife that I hope it is a day that you will treasure,” Rose said. “It was a beautiful ceremony.”

“Yes, it was,” Finn added. “And you have never looked more beautiful than you have today.”

Rey felt her cheeks warm at the compliment. “I only wanted to look my best for him.”

“You did,” Finn said, smiling at her. “I assure you of that.”

The attendant brought tea into the room then, and after having poured everyone a cup, she left the room. Sabine walked in a moment later with Leia, and they all stood immediately. Finn bowed, and Rose and Jannah curtsied immediately, and when Rey went to do the same, Leia just shook her head. “You do not need to curtsy to me anymore, Rey. You are a member of the Royal Family now.”

Rey nodded. “I suppose you are right.”

“I know I am,” Leia said, walking into the room and motioning for everyone to sit down. “I came to help keep you company while my son is away.”

“I appreciate that, Your Royal Highness,” Rey said, and Leia shook her head again. 

“You do not need to do that anymore either,” she pointed out. “And I told you ages ago to just call me Leia.”

“I did not want to disrespect you,” Rey said.

“You will not disrespect me, I promise,” Leia said, smiling at everyone else. “Did all of you enjoy the celebration?”

“It was lovely,” Rose said, her voice showing off the nerves she still had about being around Leia. 

“Yes, it was,” Jannah said. “Beautiful.”

“I particularly loved the music,” Finn said. “I had never heard some of the songs played today.”

“We will have to make sure that you hear them more often then,” Leia said. “I am sure that Rey will want to hear them play music often as well. She was the one who chose the songs in the end.”

“I just picked ones that I enjoy hearing at the banquets,” Rey said. “Though it would be nice to hear them more often than that.”

“I suggest going to the room of the Royal Orchestra then,” Leia said. “They will play you whatever you would like to hear at any time.”

“I will have to do that, and I will take Finn with me.”

“I would appreciate that, Rey,” Finn said.

“At the moment though,” Rey said, “I am most concerned with the skies.”

“Oh, let the men worry about that,” Leia said. “They are the ones who will fix the problem anyway.”

“I cannot help but to worry about it,” Rey replied. “This will affect Ben and I must be ready for whatever it is he will be needed to do.”

“Yes, well, I suppose it will if Master Yoda's spells do not fix the problem,” Leia said softly. “This seems to be an entirely different problem to someone weakening the magic of the skies. This seems as though someone has completely changed it.”

“Completely changed the magic of the skies?” Finn asked. “How is that possible without Kyber crystals?”

“I do not know,” Leia said, sighing. “But, as I said, that is something for the men to worry about today. The only thing that Rey should be thinking about is the beautiful ceremony and a wonderful celebration that followed, whether it was cut short or not.”

“It was quite magical in itself,” Rey said, smiling. “I did not realize that part of the ceremony was a spell to bind me and Ben together in matrimony.”

“Magic has been a part of marriage ceremonies for longer than anyone remembers,” Leia said. “And I would have thought that you would have been told about that beforehand.”

“I think perhaps it was supposed to come up with the cleric, but then that issue arose with someone in the village and he went to pray over them for their recovery instead of meeting with me,” Rey explained. “We never did end up meeting after that.”

An attendant walked into the room before another word could be said, and Rey did not know who they were. Leia seemed to, however, and she smiled at them. “Yes?”

“I have come to deliver the message that what you requested is ready, Your Royal Highness,” the attendant said. “His Grace the Duke will be informed as soon as the council meeting is over that you want him to come to your chambers.”

“Tell them I will be there in a moment,” Leia said, and the attendant turned to leave. “Alright, Finn, as the Master of Rey's household, and Jannah, as the Master of Ben's, I am placing a job upon the two of you. Once my son is back here, he and Rey are not to be disturbed for the rest of the day. You are to intercept anyone that tries to interrupt them. I want my son and daughter to enjoy their wedding night alone. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” Finn and Jannah said at the same time, and Leia stood, prompting them all to.

“Leia,” Rey said as she began to walk away. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Leia asked.

“For calling me your daughter,” Rey said softly. “It makes me feel like I finally have a mother again. It has been so long that I do not know what it's like to have one.”

Leia smiled and walked back to Rey, giving her a big hug. “I am so sorry that you do not know what it's like to have a mother, and I promise you that I will be the best mother that I can be for you.”

“Thank you,” Rey murmured again. “You do not know what that means to me.”

“I can only imagine,” Leia said, turning to leave again. “I meant what I said about my son and daughter being alone!”

“We will make sure of it, Your Royal Highness!” Finn called back.

Rey motioned for everyone to sit back down and reached for her cup of tea. “I do hope the council meeting does not take hours.”

“I would think that it would not, but I suppose we do not know,” Finn said. “We will all stay to keep you company until it is finished.”

Rey smiled at him. “Thank you. I really appreciate that. Shall we talk more about the celebration? I would like to hear your favorite parts of it.”

Finn nodded and began to speak about the music again, and Rey sipped at her cup. This was the day that she'd been dreaming about for months, and even though it was interrupted because of the skies, it had been perfect.


	3. Chapter 3

**.2**

Luke looked around the Throne Room and sighed. Everyone was still in the clothes they'd been wearing for the wedding and it just made him feel sad for Ben and Rey. This was supposed to be their special day, this was supposed to be a celebration of the love that they shared underneath the sunshine, and instead, they were all inside the castle because the skies had suddenly turned to gray clouds. He was going to have to do something to make this up to the two of them once the skies were bright again. He really was.

The doors to the room opened and Poe walked in, and he started talking before he was close to where they all were. “I've sounded the all-clear outside. There is no sign of a threat anywhere in the vicinity of the village and I don't believe there is one incoming. Whatever it is that has happened, it does not appear to be the beginning of a surprise attack.”

Luke breathed a sigh of relief as Poe came up to them. “Thank you, Lord Dameron. We have just been discussing how this is clearly someone who has completely changed the magic of the skies instead of attempting to weaken it.”

“I thought that Master Yoda had said that Kyber crystals were required for the magic of the skies,” Han said. “We destroyed the crystals that were in that cave, so how has this happened?”

“This happening is much disturbing,” Luke said, sighing. “I look forward to finding out how this happened so that things like this may be stopped for good.”

“I think you should mobilize the Guard, Your Majesty,” Chewbacca said. “Have them go search the Unknown Regions because I'm sure that whoever did this is probably in there messing around with something.”

“You are probably right about that, Chewie. Be that as it may, I will not send the Guard into the Unknown Regions unless absolutely necessary,” Luke said. “We lost entirely too many knights trying to find the cave. It's just too treacherous and I will not send good men to their death without a solid, tangible reason to send the Guard in there. Another solution needs to be found.”

“If Your Majesty wishes, I will seek out Master Yoda and Master Kanata to see if they have any guidance or knowledge on what has happened and how to reverse it,” Obi-Wan said. 

“That is a good idea, Lord Kenobi. Please, go and do that now.” Obi-Wan bowed and then left the room, leaving Luke to sigh. “There has to be something that we can do.”

“I think the idea of mobilizing the Guard is a good one,” Lando said. “They would be prepared to cut off any threat before it could reach Coruscant.”

“That would not be a bad idea,” Han said. “But Ben must be left behind.”

“What?” Ben exclaimed. “Absolutely not. My place is with my fellow knights.”

“You are a married man now. It is time for you to retire from the Guard and focus on your birthright,” Han said firmly. 

“Your father is not wrong, Ben,” Luke said before Ben could respond. “But until the skies are bright again, I'm going to need you.”

“Until there is something to base a legitimate plan around, the Guard cannot be mobilized,” Poe said before Ben could say anything. “Panic is likely going to set in and the Guard will be needed to maintain order. There is also a band of raiders that are making their way through the countryside slaughtering people and burning settlements, and that requires our attention.”

“Tell me about these raiders,” Luke said. “This is the first I'm hearing of this.”

“We only received word of them yesterday,” Poe said. “The Storm tribe was attacked by them but several fled before they could be slaughtered. They banded together and thought to track them, but the raiders' horses are quick and they lost them. We will be tracking their movements so that they can be intercepted and dealt with. I have put Snap on it. He is the best tracker that we have. He will find the appropriate place and then the raiders will be put to the sword for their crimes.”

“Keep me informed on this, Lord Dameron.”

“I will, Your Majesty. Because of everything that I have mentioned, the Guard cannot be mobilized. However, when a plan is formed, the Guard will be ready to help in any capacity necessary. But until then, we need to keep our focus on these matters.”

“I understand, Lord Dameron,” Luke said. “Always keep enough of the Guard back so that a large army can be mustered at a moment's notice. Once we get a location on who has done this, the Guard will march on it.”

Poe nodded. “I will make sure that happens, Your Majesty.”

“There is nothing left to be said then,” Luke said. “We have too little information to work with. Once we have something more tangible, another council meeting will be had. Until then, we will wait. You are dismissed. Except for you, Ben.”

The other men left the room and Luke climbed down from the throne, approaching his nephew. Ben looked every inch the prince that day and Luke wanted him to go enjoy time with his new wife. But first, some things needed to be said, and he knew that Ben was not going to like them.

“While I need you for this, Ben, serious thought needs to be put into how you will serve the realm from here on out. I know that you enjoy being a knight of the Guard and that you feel as though it is your duty to lead them, but there are other ways in which you can serve the realm.”

“There is no better way for me to serve the realm,” Ben snapped, and he immediately felt horrible about it. “I am sorry, Your Majesty. I am just frustrated with such a notion.”

“It is fine, Ben. I used to do the same to my father whenever he talked about me retiring from the Guard,” Luke said, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. “But you cannot be a knight forever. You are to be the King.”

Ben stood there for a moment before dropping his head. “I know I am.”

“What you are tonight, however, is nothing more than a newly married man,” Luke said, and Ben brightened. “Go spend time with your new wife.”

“Thank you for such a wonderful celebration, Your Majesty,” Ben said, smiling at him. 

“The future King and Queen deserved the best,” Luke said, smiling back. “But my beloved nephew and the woman he loves deserved even more than that. I am glad that you are happy with how it turned out. I am just sorry that this had to interrupt it.”

“This does not dampen my happiness. I promise you that.”

“Good,” Luke said, squeezing Ben's shoulder and motioning towards the door. “Go. Be with her.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Ben said, bowing and making his way to the door. 

He hurried as quickly as he could through the hallways until he was at the door to Rey's chambers. He knocked and the door quickly opened, Sabine curtsying immediately. “Your Royal Highness.”

“I would like to see my wife,” Ben said, walking into the room.

“Right this way,” Sabine said, leading Ben through the rooms until he was escorted into the sitting room. “His Royal Highness, my lady.”

“Thank you, Sabine,” Rey said, standing and smiling as Ben walked over to her. “How was the council meeting?”

“The council meeting is something that does not need to be discussed,” Ben said, giving her a sweet kiss. “We will spend the evening talking about other things.”

He turned to Finn, Rose, and Jannah and smiled at them. “For as much as I appreciate each one of you, I request that you leave me and my wife in peace now.”

“Of course,” Rose said, smiling at them. “I should go see if any help is needed in the kitchens.”

“No,” Rey said, shaking her head. “You have the day off.”

Rose nodded. “Then I am going to go home.”

“Thank you for coming to the wedding,” Ben said. “It meant a lot that you were there. That all three of you were there.”

“It was an honor, Your Royal Highness,” Jannah said, walking away. “I will go spread the orders that your mother gave. I hope that you enjoy your evening.”

Jannah left the room before Ben could question her, and he turned back to Rey in confusion. “What orders did my mother give?”

“That we are not to be disturbed tonight,” Rey said, and Finn nodded. 

“Yes, and I should go spread the orders as well. You two have a nice evening together.”

He walked out of the room with Rose and Ben turned his attention to Rey. “We are never really going to be alone if we remain in your chambers or go in mine, so that leaves one place.”

“Our bedroom,” Rey breathed out. “We can finally share it.”

Ben smiled and bent to kiss her. “Yes, we can.”

Rey felt a shiver go down her spine as Ben wrapped his arms around her, his hands roaming her back. “I have looked forward to this.”

“So have I,” Ben murmured, kissing her again. “And we will go as slowly as you want.”

Rey just smiled at him. “I know.”

“Then shall we?”

Rey took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes.”

**.3**

The skies had been filled with gray clouds for nearly a standard month, the spells that Yoda had used to brighten them before unable to be performed because there were no more Kyber crystals. He and Maz were diving into books trying to find a solution to the problem, both of them knowing that the Jedi had used many spells for many things and hoping that one could be found that would reverse this. Until a spell could be found though, the skies would remain filled with clouds. 

The people were not panicking as much as they had when the skies turned darker, even though the clouds had cast everything in shadow. There was some panic, of course, but the Guard was doing well at calming it and restoring order. More of the focus was on stopping the raiders that were continuing to wreak havoc in the countryside. Every attempt at interception had resulted in no contact with them, and Poe and Ben were becoming frustrated. Snap's attempt to find intercept points was being troubled by the fact that the raiders did not seem to be going in a straight path, meaning that they could be anywhere at any time, something which was troubling everyone. As reports flowed in about massacres and burnt villages, Ben's heart sank. He felt as though he was failing at protecting his people, though he did not know what more to do than what was being done.

However, none of that mattered at the moment.

Ben had taken the day off from the Guard and it was morning, but he had yet to rise. He had propped himself up on his elbow and was staring down at his wife, and the thought that Rey was his and would be forever just made him smile. He never knew that he could love someone so much.

Rey was staring back at him, a bright smile on her face, and she had never felt so happy and comfortable in her life. Though she had been wary of their physical relationship in the beginning, once it began she had warmed to it quickly, and the nights that they spent locked in each other's arms had become her favorite thing in the world. She had always loved the way that Ben made her feel, but on those nights, she loved the way he made her feel even more.

“Are you enjoying married life?” Ben eventually asked. 

“Married life is wonderful,” Rey answered, her voice soft. “I never thought I would ever get to have married life, so to say I'm enjoying it, especially with someone as kind as you are, is an understatement.”

Ben reached out with his free hand and trailed his fingers along the side of Rey's face, smiling when she turned to nuzzle them. “Did you really think you would never be married?”

“My master had made it very clear that I was to have no attachments of any kind,” Rey said. “This is why I had no friends until I came to Coruscant. I was never going to have love either. That thought changed once I was here. I thought perhaps I might meet someone in the Royal Household with whom I'd fall in love. I certainly didn't think I was going to fall in love with the prince.”

“I knew that I could fall in love with you the night we met,” Ben murmured. “And when you told me what had happened and was still happening with you, I knew that I had to make things right for you. My uncle said he would take care of things while I went to take care of your slaver, and when I came back and found out what he'd done, I was thrilled. It was selfish of me, perhaps, but all I could think about was how I would have someplace to visit you that would not attract too much attention. I wanted our interactions to be just for us.”

“Our interactions made me fall in love with you, and when I discovered that you felt the same way I do, I was just so happy, Ben. Marrying you was the greatest experience of my life and I will never forget that day, no matter how much the celebration was interrupted by the skies.”

Ben sighed heavily. “No one still has any idea what has happened. I hope that it is not someone who was specifically trying to ruin our day because I would have a hard time keeping myself from killing them immediately if I heard that.”

“You would not do that,” Rey admonished. “Whoever it is that has done this, whether to ruin our day or not, deserves the King's justice, not yours.”

“I know that you are right, and I am pretty sure that I would be able to stop myself, but it would not quell my desire to chop their head off,” Ben said. “So far there are no clues about who has done this or why, so I do not know why I think of such things.”

“At least this is not darkness,” Rey pointed out.

“I agree, but in a way, these clouds are worse. There was a way to reverse darkness. I do not know if there is a way to reverse this,” Ben said, sighing. “However, I do not want to think about this anymore.”

“What do you want to think about then?”

“I want to think about my beautiful wife and the life we are going to have together,” Ben said, bending down to kiss her. “And hopefully, that means many lazy mornings like this to come.”

Rey could not keep the smile from her face. “I much look forward to lazy mornings like this as well.”

“I will make sure that they happen then.”

Before another word could be said, there was a knock at the door, Jannah's voice coming through. “Your Royal Highnesses? His Grace the Duke has requested your presence for breakfast.”

Ben groaned. “I completely forgot about that.”

Rey sat up. “It is alright. We have the rest of our lives to have lazy mornings.”

Ben kissed Rey again before calling out for them to come in, and as Jannah and Sabine entered the room, Ben stole one more kiss before climbing out of bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**.4**

What remained of the Storm tribe were continuing their attempts to find the raiders, and they had sent intelligence into the Guard about the path that the raiders were on, hoping that the Guard would back them up when they finally made their move. Snap plotted the path that they were on before deciding that they finally had a good intercept point, and a small company was sent out to intercept them near Ajan Kloss. Ben and Poe were hopeful that this would put a stop to them once and for all.

But then the company did not return as scheduled. 

Poe had thought at first that they had been delayed by marching slowly after a tough battle, but when a week had passed and the company had not returned, he began to wonder where they were. He was with Ben and Snap in the Guard's headquarters, discussing his idea to send another company out to find the first, when a member of the village folk came running inside.

“A rider has just come into Coruscant! Come quickly!”

The three of them followed the villager out into the town square, finding other villagers helping a young girl down off of a horse. Her clothes were covered in mud and she looked as though she had been on the horse for a considerable amount of time. Ben went to her and offered her support when she stumbled while trying to stand, and Snap asked for one of the accompanying knights to take her horse and care for it. 

“Let us get you to where you can sit down, my lady,” Poe said, and Ben helped her carefully walk with them back to the Guard's headquarters.

Ben helped her onto a chair as Snap fetched her some water, and she drank the entire glass down in almost one sip. Poe asked Snap to get her some more before crouching down in front of her chair, smiling at her softly. “What is your name?”

“My name is Kaydel of the Connix tribe,” she said, offering a weak smile in return. “And yours?”

“I am Lord Poe Dameron,” he said. “The head of the Royal Guard. You are safe now, Kaydel. I promise you that.”

“Thank you, Lord Dameron,” Kaydel said, happily accepting the glass again when Snap offered it. “I am glad to be here. I was unsure of the way.”

“Then it is good that you have arrived here now,” Poe said as she took another long sip. “Where does the Connix tribe reside?”

“We inhabit the lands outside of Dulathia,” Kaydel explained, stopping for another sip of water. “Though, I am not sure if there are any of us left beyond me.”

“What happened to your tribe, Kaydel?” Ben asked, and Kaydel sucked in a sharp breath. 

“I was on the outskirts of our village being taught how to ride by my father when a group of riders approached the village. They were in armor with full-face helmets, and at first, I thought they were members of the Royal Guard there to make another pronouncement,” she said, having another sip. “But my father said that it would be odd to have two pronouncements in such a short period of time unless the King had died, so we went closer to the center of the village, me still on the horse. They were approached by the elders and asked who they were, and they declared themselves to be the Knights of Ren before they began to slaughter them. My father turned to me and told me to ride to Coruscant to raise the alarm and sent the horse away. I do not know what happened after that.”

Poe stood up and turned to Snap. “I want a survey of every knight in the Guard. We need to make sure none have rebelled.”

Snap nodded. “I will make sure that starts as soon as we are done here.”

“These Knights of Ren sound like they are most likely our band of raiders,” Ben said, turning back to Kaydel. “Do you know how many they are?”

“I counted only six, but they were big men and seemed to be very skilled with their swords. The elders of my tribe were no match for them.”

“It is more important than ever to send out the second company to find the first,” Poe said, turning to Snap again. “Where is Ajan Kloss relative to Dulathia?”

“Dulathia is past Ajan Kloss on their trajectory,” Snap said. “It is possible that the first company met them in combat.”

“I believe that they probably did,” Kaydel said, bringing their attention back to her. “I passed a massacre of knights of the Guard and what looked like members of another tribe on my way here to raise the alarm.”

Ben closed his eyes and said a silent prayer for the guidance of all of his fellow knights' souls. “The tribe members must be what was left of the Storm tribe. They did say they were still planning their attack no matter our sending of a company of the Guard to take care of the raiders.”

“Who are these six men that could take out an entire company?” Snap asked. “Even the most skilled of our knights would be no match for an entire company.”

“Be that as it may, I still want the survey done,” Poe said, and Snap nodded.

“It will be completed as quickly as possible.”

“These Knights of Ren are more dangerous than I had been thinking these raiders were then,” Poe said after a moment. “And given the trail of bodies and burnt villages that they have been leaving, I'd been thinking they were very dangerous.”

“We need to form a plan to stop them before they get much further on this path of destruction,” Ben said. 

“We will need more intelligence before we can think of trying to intercept them again,” Snap said. “If the tribe members Kaydel saw massacred with the knights were what was left of the Storm tribe, then we have lost our trackers.”

“We need to start by sending a company to Dulathia,” Ben said. “That is a major city in that sector. If they have burnt that to the ground, then we might need to mobilize the entire Guard just for these six men.”

“I will work on that,” Poe said as he began to walk away. “But first, I need to arrange for messengers to be sent to the families of the knights we have just lost. They need to be told what happened to their sons.”

“I was just preparing to give an intelligence briefing to the King,” Snap said after Poe was gone. “I will include this news in it and then begin the survey of the knights once it is over.”

“I will help Kaydel,” Ben said, nodding towards the castle. “Go.”

Snap walked away and Ben reached out a hand to Kaydel. “Come, let us get you some food and water, as well as some fresh clothes. Do you need any attention from a healer?”

Kaydel took Ben's hand and stood shakily. “The healer might be nice. I have never been so sore in my life.”

“Then I will take you there first,” Ben said, wrapping an arm around Kaydel's waist as she began to sway. “Allow me to help you walk.”

“Thank you,” Kaydel said and they began to move. “May I ask your name? I did not learn it yet.”

Ben smiled at her. “I am Ben.”

“Just Ben? I thought all knights were noblemen.”

“Well, it is Prince Ben, technically.”

Kaydel's eyes widened. “I am so sorry, Your Royal Highness. I did not mean to cause any offense.”

“You have offended no one,” Ben said soothingly. “I promise you that.”

“You are very kind as to help me, Your Royal Highness. I appreciate it.”

“I am doing what is right, Kaydel. You were witness to a horrific event and were brave to ride here if you were only just learning how to.”

Kaydel let out a small laugh. “Riding the horse was almost as terrifying as seeing the Knights of Ren.”

Ben smiled. “Did you stop to rest on your way here?”

“I did not think I would be able to get back on the horse, so I did not,” Kaydel said. “It was a very long ride.”

“How many days?”

“I do not know, to be honest. At least a week. I got lost a few times before I would see another directional sign and adjust.”

“You were on the horse for a week straight?” Ben asked in disbelief. “You really do need the healer then. You are more than just sore.”

“I do not know how else to describe it,” Kaydel said. 

“Just answer Healer Kalonia's questions honestly and she will get you all fixed up,” Ben said, smiling when he saw who was walking towards them. “Ah, there is my wife.”

Kaydel saw Rey coming towards them and smiled. “I have heard of your marriage. Congratulations, Your Royal Highness. She is beautiful.”

“Thank you, Kaydel. And please, call me Ben.”

“Ben,” Rey said as she approached with Finn, concern in her eyes. “What has happened?”

“Rey, this Kaydel of the Connix tribe. Kaydel, this is my wife Rey and our friend Finn.”

“It is nice to meet you,” Kaydel said. “Forgive me, Your Royal Highness, for my current inability to curtsy. I think that I would fall over should I try.”

“Fall over?” Rey asked curiously.

“She has just been on a horse for a week straight,” Ben said, looking over at Finn. “She needs to be taken to Healer Kalonia. Could you do that for me?”

“Of course,” Finn said, reaching out to take Kaydel's weight. “We will walk slowly. It is not that far from here.”

“Thank you.”

“I will arrange for a room and some fresh clothes, and then come to the healer's room to see you. I will take you to get food and water from there.”

“Thank you, Your Royal Highness. It was nice to meet you both,” Kaydel said, and Finn began to lead her away.

“Why has she been on a horse for a week straight?” Rey asked once they were out of earshot. “What has happened?”

“Not here,” Ben said, looking around before spotting a room used for storage and leading Rey into it. “She came to raise the alarm about the raiders. It is a group of six men who are proclaiming themselves to be the Knights of Ren.”

Rey's eyes widened. “A group of six men has been causing this death and destruction?”

“We believe so. They sound fearsome and dangerous. They have slaughtered the company that we sent out to intercept them.”

Rey brought a hand up to her mouth in horror. “Slaughtered?”

“Kaydel rode past a massacre of knights of the Guard and members of a tribe on her way here. We believe the tribe members are likely what was left of the Storm tribe, meaning we have just lost our trackers as well.”

“What is to be done?” Rey asked after a moment. “They sound unstoppable.”

“I promise you that they are not,” Ben said before running his hands over his face. “But as for the moment, I do not know what will be done. If we can pinpoint a location they are heading, we might have to mobilize the entire Guard to take care of them.”

Terror rushed through Rey. “And you would ride out with them?”

“Of course,” Ben said simply. 

“But perhaps what your father had mentioned is the more wise thing to do,” Rey said. “Retire from the Guard and allow Poe and Snap to handle things.”

“Oh, so you're on his side now, are you?” Ben said angrily. 

“I am on no one's side,” Rey said defensively. “I only worry for your safety.”

“I am perfectly capable of keeping myself safe. I do not need some silly woman in a dress trying to dictate my life.”

Ben quickly left the room, leaving Rey staring after him in shock. She took a moment to compose herself before leaving the room, looking around for Ben and finding him nowhere. She ignored what she had set out to do and instead headed back in the direction of her chambers, trying desperately not to cry. 

Ben had never said anything like that to her before.

She ran into Finn on her way there, and he immediately noticed that things were not alright. “Rey? What is wrong?”

“Not in the hallways,” Rey said, and Finn took her arm and walked her back into her chambers. 

They went into the sitting room and Finn ordered the rest of the attendants away as Rey sat down, and then he sat down next to her and asked what had happened. Rey recounted the conversation for him and Finn reached over to squeeze her hand when she got to where Ben had gotten angry. “I think that what we need right now is some tea, and then we will talk about this more,” Finn said, nodding when she looked over at him. “I think the tea will help.”

“Thank you, Finn,” Rey breathed out, and Finn stood and left.

He returned several minutes later with Leia by his side, and she sat down next to Rey while Finn poured both of them some tea. Once it was, Leia dismissed Finn and he smiled at Rey before leaving the room. “My son,” Leia started, “is a lot like his father. I have learned a thing or two about men from the Solo bloodline over the years, and one of them is that they have notoriously short tempers, especially when someone is disagreeing with them about something they are very passionate about.”

“He has never spoken to me like that before,” Rey said, reaching for her cup and taking a long sip. “It shocked me.”

“I am not surprised to hear that. Ben is one of the most kindhearted people I've ever met, but you get him in a position like it sounds like you had him, and well, as I said, he is a lot like his father. In similar situations, Han can be downright cruel.”

“I always knew that Han was rather gruff, but I did not think such a thing.”

“When you add all of that from the Solo bloodline to the stubbornness that comes from the Skywalker bloodline, it means that when Ben is in a position like he is now, he can and will say things that he does not mean,” Leia said, reaching for her cup. “Ben knows deep down that the right thing to do is to retire from the Guard. But he is being stubborn and refusing to admit that, and when someone brings up the fact that it is the right thing to do, he will snap. He snapped at Luke when the subject was first broached, and he will probably continue to snap at people until he makes peace with the fact that it is the right thing to do.”

“I hope that he makes peace with it soon then. I did not like the way he spoke to me.”

“Han has been so cruel to me down the years that I have slapped him on several occasions,” Leia said. “Usually after that, he rode out to visit either Lando or Chewie, came back a couple of weeks later, and was extremely apologetic. I do not think that Ben is going to ride off for a couple of weeks though. He will come to apologize to you soon. I am sure of it.”

“I hope so, though I feel as though I should apologize to him as well. I am the one who brought it up.”

“Rey,” Leia said, making Rey look over at her. “There is no reason for you to apologize for being worried about your husband's safety. None.”

“But what I said is what angered him.”

“What you said is nothing more than the truth,” Leia said firmly. “Never apologize for speaking the truth.”

Rey nodded and Leia reached out, caressing the side of her face. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to him, Rey. He will be horrified that he spoke to you in such a way.”

“Thank you, Leia, for coming to speak to me,” Rey said after a moment.

“I would do anything for my daughter,” Leia said, smiling at her. “Now, shall we talk about something much nicer? I heard you and Finn visited the Royal Orchestra. Tell me how that went.”

The conversation was much lighter for the rest of tea, and by the time that Leia left, Rey felt much better. That only lasted until she retired to their bedroom for the night, however, because Ben was not there waiting for her, nor did he come in before she fell asleep. When Rey woke up in the morning, she was alone, the other side of the bed still made.

She was on the verge of tears again by the time that she was dressed and in the dining room for breakfast, but before she could get too much into why she felt that way with Finn, Jannah came into the room. “My apologies for interrupting your breakfast, Your Royal Highness, but I come with a message about the prince.”

“Where is he?” Rey asked.

“The prince is on his way to Dulathia with a company of the Guard,” Jannah said, and Rey felt her heart sink. “The city needs to be checked on after the events that led Miss Kaydel to arrive here, and he is hoping to bring back not only news on the city but also news on what is left of her village for Miss Kaydel.”

“He did not come to say goodbye,” Rey got out before the tears began to slip down her cheeks. She reached up and wiped them away quickly. “When did he leave?”

“He left late last night,” Jannah said, slightly confused as to why Rey was crying. “My understanding of the situation is that some intelligence came in and it was decided that they must leave quickly. There was not time to come and say goodbye.”

Rey sniffled several times and then reached for her cup of juice, trying to keep control of her emotions. Jannah looked over at Finn, and he sighed. “They had an argument yesterday and it has not been resolved.”

“Ah,” Jannah said, drawing Rey's attention back to her. “I am sure the argument will be resolved as soon as the prince returns, Your Royal Highness. The prince does not like to leave such things unresolved. If this travel had not needed to happen so quickly, I am sure that it already would be.”

“Thank you, Jannah,” Rey said, and Jannah curtsied before turning around and leaving.

Rey took another long sip of her juice before realizing that she had no choice but to put this out of her mind. “You should tell her how you feel about her already.”

Finn's eyes snapped to Rey's. “Excuse me?”

“Jannah,” Rey said as though Finn should have known. “You should tell her how you feel about her already.”

“You do not know what you're talking about,” Finn said quickly, standing up. “I will have Sabine or Ahsoka come in to gather your breakfast once you are done with it.”

Rey let out a laugh as Finn walked out of the room, smiling to herself. Teasing Finn about Jannah was going to become one of her favorite hobbies until he finally did tell Jannah how he felt.

And it would be a nice distraction from the fact that Ben had likely volunteered to go on this journey to Dulathia, therefore running off for a couple of weeks just like his father did. 

Maybe she should have tea with Leia again.


	5. Chapter 5

**.5**

Ben was just returned from Dulathia, and though he needed to speak with Luke, there was someone he needed to speak to even more. He could only imagine what Rey must be feeling after he left so abruptly, both from their conversation and then for Dulathia, and he needed to apologize and beg for forgiveness. 

Though he would completely understand if he did not get it. He had behaved appallingly.

He was headed to Rey's chambers when an attendant came up to him, telling him that the King had ordered an immediate council meeting, and his plan to see Rey first was suddenly changed. Ben thanked the attendant and then made his way to the Throne Room, entering it to find everyone but him already there. “My apologies if I am tardy, Your Majesty. I am only just returned from Dulathia.”

“You are fine, Ben,” Luke said. “And I want to hear about that in a moment. First, Master Yoda, please tell me what it is you have found.”

It was only when Luke mentioned Yoda that Ben noticed that he was standing with Obi-Wan in front of the throne, and Ben went and stood in his normal spot so he could hear what Yoda had to say. 

“I have come to the conclusion that Kyber crystals were indeed used in whatever spell was done that changed the skies to these clouds,” Yoda said. “But I believe that the spell that has been done is a much different spell than had been done in any of the previous two attempts to change the magic of the skies.”

“So you believe that this is not another attempt at turning the skies to eternal darkness?” Luke asked.

“I am not willing to go as far as to say that, but if that was their intent with this spell, then they have chosen the wrong spell to do.”

Luke sat back for a moment before sighing. “Tell me that there is a way to fix this.”

“There are references in several of the books that Master Kanata and I looked at that speak of texts belonging to the ancient Jedi tribes, the ones that first settled here, that exist inside the Jedi temple in Ahch-To.”

“I thought that there were no Jedi temples that still stood,” Han interjected.

“There is only one,” Yoda explained. “And it is the temple in Ahch-To. I believe that inside those texts contains the spells that the Jedi had done to overturn each attempt by the Sith to turn the entire planet to darkness. If I am correct, inside those texts is likely a spell that could undo what has been done and restore the skies to bright sunshine.”

“Then we should go to Ahch-To,” Ben said. 

“The temple in Ahch-To still stands for a reason,” Yoda said. “And that is because it is sealed by magic. The other temples were not, and therefore, they have all fallen into ruin.”

“How do we unseal it then?” Lando asked. “Because it sounds like we need those texts.”

“I have Master Kanata looking for the spell that will unseal it as we speak,” Yoda said. “But I do caution that even if we get the temple unsealed and find these texts, the spells inside might need Kyber crystals to complete.”

“We have no idea where whoever did this got the crystals they used for this,” Han exclaimed. “Where are we going to find more?”

“If there was one cave,” Ben said, “perhaps there is another.”

“That is another reason to mobilize the Guard and send them into the Unknown Regions,” Chewbacca said, but Luke shook his head.

“That is not currently an option. Too many men would be lost trying to find another cave, and enough paid with their lives to get the crystals in the last cave destroyed.”

“We need to know who is doing this, Your Majesty,” Obi-Wan said. “As of now, we have no clues pointing to anyone.”

“It has to be someone of noble birth,” Lando mentioned. “The rest of the population knows little in the ways of magic. Definitely not enough to change the magic of the skies.”

“I agree with Lando,” Han said, looking over at Luke. “When I was head of government in the Corellian sector, there were few that knew enough to become a healer, let alone to change the magic of the skies. Whoever it is that has done this is likely of noble birth.”

“Then a census is to be taken of the noble houses,” Luke ordered. “Have Lord Dameron assign some trusted knights to this, Ben. We need to compare it to the last one, and after taking off those that are known to have died, figure out who is not listed because they are perhaps currently in the Unknown Regions.”

“I will instruct Poe to do so,” Ben asked.

“Master Yoda, I need you to concentrate all of your efforts on finding a spell to unseal that temple. Master Kanata's efforts as well. Once a spell is found, one of you will travel to Ahch-To with the Guard's leadership and a small company to unseal the temple and retrieve those texts.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will get right on it.”

“Then everyone is dismissed,” Luke said. “Except for you, Ben.”

Ben nodded and once the room was clear, Luke climbed down from the throne. “Tell me about Dulathia.”

“The city is unharmed, though the people there heard the screams of the Connix tribe. The gates were immediately closed and locked and remained as such until we arrived. They are now reopened.”

“And the Connix tribe?”

“Slaughtered,” Ben said, feeling his heart ache at the words. “All of them, women and children included, just as how the previous massacres have been found.”

Luke closed his eyes and said a silent prayer. “I am receiving a briefing from Lord Wexley later this afternoon. I am hoping for news of a new intercept point.”

“I have no news on that,” Ben said. “I did not speak with either Poe or Snap once I returned. I just went into the castle to find my wife.”

“About that. I have heard of how you took your leaving.”

Ben dropped his head. “I am ashamed.”

“You should be,” Luke said. “Your wife only has your best interests at heart. So does your father.”

“I was on my way to apologize for my words and actions when I was called into this meeting.”

“I am glad you at least realize that is necessary,” Luke said, chuckling. “When your parents were first married, it was often me who had to point out that your father needed to do that with your mother.”

“I have heard of their fights,” Ben said, lifting his chin to see Luke smiling. “Mama has always said that I take after him in more ways than I realize. I suppose this is one of the ways that she referenced.”

“Most likely. Leia would certainly know that better than I would.” Luke studied Ben for a moment. “It is quite serious that you realize that what we speak is the truth though. Do not make me order Lord Dameron to stop you from riding out with the Guard anymore by any means necessary.”

“I will not,” Ben said, his voice small. “I only want to do my duty, Your Majesty.”

“There are other ways to do your duty than being a knight, Ben. When this is over and the skies are bright again, we will find the right way for you to do it.”

Ben nodded and Luke sighed. “I do feel that apologizing to Rey is the more prudent thing to do, but this situation with the skies is currently needing attention more. You are to go to the Guard's headquarters and speak with Lord Dameron, then you will go apologize to your wife. After that, please go speak with the young girl. She needs to know what happened to her people definitively. Offer her a place here in the Royal Household so that she knows that she is allowed to stay.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Then you are dismissed.”

Ben left the room and went to the Guard's headquarters, finding Poe and Snap bent over a map. “Have we a new path for the Knights of Ren?”

“We are starting to put one together,” Snap said, showing Ben the line that had been drawn. “They may start turning in all directions again, but for now, they seem on a pretty straight path.”

Ben followed the line that had been drawn and then beyond it, looking at the settlements in the potential path before realizing that they were leading in the direction of Ahch-To. “Ahch-To might be an intercept point for us.”

“Ahch-To is a good bit away from where they are now,” Poe said. “We were thinking Endor might be a better one.”

“We will be heading to Ahch-To, so I think that perhaps that would be the right one.”

Poe and Snap gave Ben a strange look. “Why are we heading to Ahch-To?” Snap asked.

Ben then filled them in on everything that had been said at the council meeting. “It is perhaps our destiny that we are to meet the Knights of Ren in Ahch-To.”

Snap laughed. “You have another destiny to fulfill, Ben.”

“I don't believe in destiny anyway,” Poe added.

The three of them laughed and Ben told them about what he had found in Dulathia before leaving and making his way into the castle. He headed to Rey's chambers and knocked on the door, it opening a moment later and Ahsoka immediately curtsying. “Your Royal Highness.”

“I have come to see my wife,” Ben said as he walked into the room.

“She is this way,” Ahsoka said, motioning towards the door.

“I would prefer if you went and asked if she will be willing to see me first,” Ben said, and Ahsoka gave him a confused look.

“I'm sorry, my lord?”

“Please go ask my wife if she is willing to see me.”

Ahsoka nodded. “I will return momentarily.”

Ben stood there and waited until Ahsoka came back. “She is more than willing to see you, my lord.”

“Then please lead me to her.”

Ahsoka led Ben into the sitting room. “His Royal Highness, my lady.”

“Thank you, Ahsoka,” Rey said, and once the attendant was gone, they were alone. “I see you have returned.”

Ben heard the tone of her voice and knew he deserved her anger. “I have, yes, with many regrets.”

“And what are these regrets?”

“Over the way I gave into anger. Over the way that I spoke to you as a result of that. And over the way that I left without resolving our argument or saying goodbye.”

“I see.”

“May I sit down?” Ben asked, and Rey nodded.

He took the chair next to hers and sucked in a deep breath. “Never let it be said that I am not a foolish man. I never should have spoken to you like that, or just left Coruscant like that, and I am deeply sorry. I deserve your anger and will understand if I do not have your forgiveness.”

“I am only worried about your safety, Ben,” Rey said softly. “I had to suffer through you going off to battle once. I do not want to do that again.”

“I cannot promise you that you won't,” Ben said. “The situation with the Knights of Ren is still troubling, and now it seems as though we may be on a collision course.”

Rey looked over at him. “What does that mean?”

“It means that once Master Yoda finds a spell to open the ancient Jedi temple in Ahch-To, the King has ordered me to go there with either him or Master Kanata, Poe, Snap, and a company of the Guard to unseal it and retrieve some texts that might contain a spell that will reverse the skies. And, according to the map of their path that Snap has put together, it looks like the Knights of Ren are headed in the direction of Ahch-To as well.”

Rey sucked in a sharp breath. “And you will go?”

“I will not defy a direct order from my King, Rey,” Ben said. “This is something that I must do.”

Rey sat there in silence, so Ben spoke again. “If you would like me to find somewhere else to sleep, I will do so.”

“No, that will not be necessary,” Rey said, reaching out and covering Ben's hand with hers. “You are forgiven. But never do that to me again when I voice concern for your safety.”

Ben nodded. “I know that the day is coming when I will need to retire from the Guard. I just cannot do so until the skies have been restored to sunshine and these attempts stopped for good.”

“I understand. I am just afraid that something will happen to you.”

Ben smiled at her. “It is quite nice to have someone worrying over me, no matter what I said to you in anger.”

Rey smiled back. “I will always worry over you, Ben.”

“I think that we should spend the evening together,” Ben said. “Just the two of us. No interruptions.”

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. I will instruct Finn to make sure that happens.”

“And I will instruct Jannah to do the same,” Ben said, taking Rey's hand and kissing it softly. “I really am very sorry, Lady Rey.”

“It is alright,” Rey said. “I already said you are forgiven.”

Ben stood. “I am going to go speak to Kaydel about her tribe, and then I will rest. I have not had a chance for some days.”

“Did you not stop for rest on your return?”

“We did,” Ben said, “but I was so distraught over the way I spoke to you that I did not rest well.”

Rey stood up and reached out to caress his face. “Then go speak to her and then rest. I will take care of telling Jannah that we are not to be disturbed.”

Ben smiled before he leaned in and kissed her. “You are entirely too kind to me, Rey, when I do not deserve it.”

“You deserve better than you are thinking you do,” Rey said, motioning to the door. “Now go before I have Finn kick you out.”

Ben chuckled. “I will do so. I am looking forward to tonight.”

“I am looking forward to it as well.”

Ben left Rey's chambers, and he turned to go towards Kaydel's room when he saw his mother standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. “I have apologized,” he said, knowing that look. “And I have been forgiven.”

“You are entirely too much like your father sometimes,” Leia said, shaking her head. “And you look exhausted.”

“I am, yes.”

“Then go rest.”

“I cannot yet. I must speak with Kaydel about her tribe.”

“Then rest afterward.”

“I will do so.” Ben brushed a kiss along her cheek. “Thank you for taking care of her while I was gone.”

“I did what any mother would do,” Leia said. “Now go.”

Ben nodded and went in search of Kaydel. She was saddened to have what she had thought confirmed, and grateful for the King's kindness to have her become a member of the Royal Household as she now had nowhere else to go. Ben told her that he would send the Master of the Household to speak with her before leaving. He went to the Master's headquarters and informed him of what Luke had said about Kaydel, and then he walked towards his chambers. He didn't even listen to what Jannah started saying to him the moment he opened the door. He just made his way to his sitting room, saw the lounger there, and collapsed onto it, closing his eyes. 

Rest sounded very good.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the chapter with the aforementioned battle. I still don't think it requires the Graphic Description of Violence tag, but yeah, forewarned.

**.6**

Since his return from Dulathia, Ben had been trying to make up for his anger with kindness, being very attentive to Rey and doing everything he could to let her know that he loved her more than anything. He kept up his responsibilities to the Guard and the council, trying to help come up with solutions to the problems of both the Knights of Ren and the skies. The Knights of Ren were still on a path of destruction, and attempts to intercept them had gone badly, with companies of knights slaughtered. The skies were a different story, with Yoda still trying to figure out how to unseal the temple in Ahch-To. Ben kept trying to shove all of that to the back of his mind whenever he was with Rey, but it did not always work.

And it was not working on this day either.

During their dinner together, Rey could tell that Ben was not concentrating on what she had to say. “You have not heard a single word I've said for at least the last ten minutes.”

Ben shook himself of his thoughts. “I am sorry. My mind was elsewhere.”

“I could tell. Where was it?”

“It was on how I am growing concerned that these problems with the Knights of Ren and the skies are getting bigger than our control is. How can the Guard possibly stop these men when all of our attempts have resulted in entire companies of knights slaughtered? How can we possibly fix the skies when whoever it is that has done this is still out there and could just do it again? How can we find this person when we have absolutely no clues to work with? There is just a lot on my mind, but I should not have let it distract me from you. My apologies again.”

“Apologies are not necessary,” Rey said, reaching across the table and taking Ben's hand. “Things will work out. I believe that. There might be setbacks along the way, but the Force will bring back the sunshine and the peace that the Guard takes great care to maintain.”

Ben smiled at her. “Thank you for saying what I needed to hear.”

“I just said what felt natural to me,” Rey said, squeezing his hand. “I still feel as though I do not know much about how to communicate with a friend, let alone a husband.”

Ben squeezed her hand this time. “You are fantastic at it. Do not think otherwise.”

“I am not so sure of that, but thank you.”

“What is it you were saying to me? I am sorry for needing you to repeat yourself.”

“It is alright,” Rey said, letting go of Ben's hand. “I was telling you that today I went walking in the market with Finn. I am still very uncomfortable with everyone bowing and curtsying to me, but I am trying to adjust. There were a few ladies of the nobility in the market as well, and they did not curtsy. Finn said that was not appropriate, but it was fine.”

“That is not fine,” Ben said firmly. “That is a slight on my choice for a wife. Who is it that did this? Who has disrespected you so?”

“It does not matter.”

“Yes, it does,” Ben said strongly. “These ladies need to be reminded of their place.”

Rey stared at him for a moment before sighing. “I will tell you later, but I do not want to interrupt dinner.”

“I do not know how that would interrupt dinner.”

“I know the way you are, Ben. You would immediately get up and go tell someone, most likely the King, about what has happened and ask him how to make sure it was corrected.”

Ben could only laugh. “You do know me very well.”

Rey could only shake her head, and Ben smiled at her. “I promise I will not bring it up again until dinner is over.”

“I am happy to hear that,” Rey said.

Ben went to speak but the door opened, the next course of their meal coming in. He turned his attention to the plate set in front of him while trying to force his anger at those ladies out of his mind. Rey began to tell him what she had seen in the market, and Ben focused on her words, finding Rey's calm way of speaking soothing, and he felt the anger fade away. 

By the time that the dinner was over and he learned which ladies of the nobility had done this, he did not feel so blinded by anger and he thanked his wife with a sweet kiss. 

He did head straight for Luke when they parted though. Those ladies needed to be reminded of who their new princess was and that disrespecting her was not allowed.

**.7**

A standard month later, Yoda announced that he had come up with a passage in a book that stated the spell needed to open the Jedi temples, and he believed that it would work on the temple in Ahch-To. Luke ordered them to leave as quickly as possible, and as Poe and Snap gathered supplies and chose the knights that were going on the journey with them, Ben made his way to Rey's chambers.

He was let in by Sabine and then led to the sitting room where Rey was, and the moment she looked at him, she knew she was not going to like what he had to say. “What is it?”

“Master Yoda has found the spell that will open the Jedi temple in Ahch-To,” Ben said, and he saw the emotions flicker over Rey's face. 

“How many days until you leave then?”

“In a matter of hours,” Ben said, and Rey's eyes widened.

“What?”

“The King has ordered us to leave as quickly as possible. We have been prepared should such an order go out, and we will be ready to leave in a matter of hours.”

Rey stood up and Ben went to her, wrapping his arms around her. Rey settled her head on his shoulder and tried not to let the tears that were threatening fall. “I know that you must, but I do not want you to go.”

“I do not want to leave you, but you are right, I must.”

“I am afraid that I will never see you again,” Rey breathed out, and Ben rested his head against hers. 

“You will see me again, Rey. I promise.”

Rey knew that he could not make a promise like that, but she nodded anyway. “Then I will await your return eagerly. How long will you be gone?”

“Ahch-To is several days' march from here,” Ben said. “It will depend upon the speed of the march.”

“And Poe and Snap are going with you?”

“Yes, as well as Master Kanata. Master Yoda feels as though he is too old for such trips now, so she will go instead. She is the only one of us who will be capable of speaking the incantation. Her ability for magic is much stronger than any of ours, and these spells are ancient. I think it would not work if any of the three of us tried it.”

“A company will go with you as well?”

“Yes. Those knights are being chosen as we speak. Fear not, Poe and Snap will choose wisely.”

Rey stayed in Ben's embrace for a few moments more before pulling back. “I love you, Ben. I will see you when you return.”

Ben brought his hand up to Rey's face and smiled as he caressed it. “I love you as well. And I will look forward to seeing you once I return.”

Ben kissed her before heading towards the door. “Do not dwell upon me being gone. It will make it go by faster.”

“You sound like you're speaking from experience.”

“I dwelled upon you the entire trek to Dulathia and back, and it felt like it took two years instead of two weeks.”

Rey let out a small laugh. “I will try, I promise. Have a good march.”

“I will come to see you as soon as we return.”

**.8**

As they marched their way to Ahch-To, they passed the site of massacre after massacre, burnt village after burnt village, and it quickly became too much for Ben to take. They had not yet crossed paths with the Knights of Ren, but he knew they had to be getting close. 

He could not wait to kill them.

But they ended up arriving in Ahch-To without coming across them, and he, Poe, and Snap were confused by that. Based upon the path that the Knights of Ren had been on, they should have intercepted them before they arrived there. 

The Guard marched through the small village until they came to the temple, and Poe told Snap to have a look around and try to find out why the Knights of Ren had not attacked this particular village. Snap nodded and walked off, and then Poe ordered the company to stand guard outside the temple. Ben and Poe approached its door with Maz, and Maz pulled out the scroll that she had written the incantation down on. She read through it a couple of times before taking a deep breath and speaking it, and Ben smiled when the door to the temple slid open.

“Nicely done, Master Kanata,” Ben said as they stepped inside.

There was hardly anything inside the temple, but as Ben walked around, he spotted a small shelf with what looked like books sitting on it towards the back. “Perhaps over here?”

Maz approached the shelf and picked up one of the books, carefully opening it and looking inside. She turned a few pages before closing it, looking at the cover before handing it over to Ben. Maz did the same for the other two books before turning to them. “The language is one that I cannot read on my own. It requires translation, which I can only do in the library in Coruscant. Based upon the markings on the outside of the books, however, I believe that these are the books that we are looking for.”

“Wonderful,” Ben said, handing the books back and watching as Maz put them into her bag. “Then let us head for Coruscant.”

They walked outside the temple to find the Guard in attack formation, Snap at its head. Ben looked down the road to see six men walking towards them, and he immediately drew his sword.

The Knights of Ren were there.

“Stay in the temple, Master Kanata. A battle is no place for a historian,” Poe said, and once the door to the temple was shut behind them, they walked to the front of the Guard. “Snap, what happened?”

“I was looking around the village when I saw them approaching, and then I ran back to get the Guard prepared,” Snap said as Poe drew his sword. “The villagers are hiding in a church.”

Poe started talking about how they needed to form a plan, but Ben's anger at these six men burned through him, and he was walking towards the men before he could even think about it. The Guard followed behind their prince, and the moment Ben was close enough, he swung out at them. 

The Knights of Ren were clearly very skilled warriors, taking out almost all the other knights easily, but Ben, Poe, and Snap were not ordinary knights. Between the three of them, three of the Knights of Ren were taken out, and that just focused the other three's attention on them. One of them was cut down almost immediately, the victim of some great swordwork from Snap, and then they had the upper hand, three swords to two. Ben and Snap were focusing their energy on one while Poe fought the other, but Poe was pushed onto one knee and the one he was fighting got behind him, and before any of them realized it, he'd put his sword through Ben's stomach.

Poe screamed Ben's name before pushing back upright, quickly killing the one who'd injured Ben. He wanted to drop to his knees next to him but there was still one left, and the combination of he and Snap took care of him as quickly as possible. By the time that they got to Ben, other members of the Guard that had only been injured had reached him, and Poe dropped to his knees next to him. “Tell me he's alive.”

“He's alive,” one of the knights said, and Poe looked down to see the blood that was pouring out of the wound in Ben's side. 

“I need the healer now!” he called out, only to hear someone call back a moment later.

“The healer is dead!”

Poe turned to Snap quickly. “Go get Master Kanata. Hurry.”

Snap nodded and rushed off, and Poe turned his attention back to Ben just in time to see his eyes slip closed. “No, you've got to keep those eyes open, Ben. Open them back up.”

Ben's eyes opened briefly but then closed again, and Poe tried to get him to open them again as Maz dropped to her knees next to him. Maz surveyed the scene and closed her eyes, saying several incantations that she knew by heart. Poe watched as the blood stopped pooling, but Maz turned to him with worry in her eyes. 

“Those spells will keep him alive, but only for a short period of time. He needs a healer.”

Snap came running back to them then. “The village doesn't have a healer. I just asked.”

Poe closed his eyes and said a silent prayer. “We need to get him back to Coruscant as quickly as possible. Find a way to do so.”

Snap nodded and ran off, and Poe tried to get Ben to open his eyes again. “Ben. Come on. Open up those eyes.”

Ben didn't respond at all, and a minute later, Poe heard the sound of a cart being pulled up to them. “The villagers offer up a cart and a horse,” Snap said. “I'm afraid that's the best we can do.”

“Then that is what will have to do,” Poe said, bending down and carefully picking Ben up.

He set Ben down as gently as he could on the cart, and Maz climbed up onto it with him. “I will keep reciting incantations that I know, but we need to get him back much faster than those knights can march.”

Poe looked behind him at the results of the battle and the shape the remaining knights were in, and he nodded. “Snap! It is your responsibility to take care of things here and march the knights back to Coruscant. I'm getting on this horse and getting Ben there as fast as I can.”

Snap nodded and Poe climbed onto the horse, looking back at Ben and Maz for a moment. “Come find me as soon as you get back!” he called out as he kicked into the horse's sides.

Normally, Poe would have stopped for rest, but he knew that there was no time. He kept the horse moving as fast as he could with the cart behind it and did not stop. Still, three days passed before Coruscant came into view, and the moment he entered the village, he started calling out. “I need the healer in the town square immediately!”

Poe had barely gotten off the horse when Hera Syndulla, the village healer, came running into the square, and she climbed onto the cart quickly. She surveyed Ben's injuries before murmuring several incantations. “We need to get him into the castle,” she said, looking up. “Healer Kalonia will be needed.”

Poe picked up Ben and carried him as carefully as he could towards the castle. The moment they were inside, Maz said she would go fetch Luke, and Poe started calling out again. “Healer Kalonia! We need Healer Kalonia immediately!”

Harter Kalonia walked out of a room a moment later, and her eyes widened when she saw Ben in Poe's arms. She motioned for them to follow her and Poe walked as fast as he could towards the healer's room, laying Ben down on the bed that Harter pointed to before stepping back. He watched helplessly as the two healers began to peel Ben's clothes away from the wound in his side, and then they started to ask Poe questions. He did his best to answer them as he grabbed the things that they asked for him to, and then he stood back and watched them get to work. 

Luke arrived at the room with Maz a moment later, and his eyes widened at the sight of the wound in Ben's side. He turned his attention to Poe before he could dwell on what was happening, and Poe began relaying the story of what happened to him. Luke stood there taking everything in before his common sense kicked in, and he turned to Poe. “Go get Leia and Rey. Now.”

Poe nodded and went running down the hallway towards where the Royal Family's private chambers were. He went to Rey's first because it was closer, and he didn't even let the attendant that opened the door get the words out before he was pushing his way through to the sitting room. Rey was in there having tea with Leia, and they were startled when Poe just burst into the room. He didn't have time for apologies though.

“Ben,” he said, and Leia stood up immediately. 

“How badly?”

“Pretty badly,” Poe said, and Leia started walking towards the door.

“Rey, we must get to the healer's room immediately. Finn! Go tell Han that our son has been injured!”

Rey stood onto shaky legs and hurried after Leia, Poe following behind them. They ran through the hallways back to the healer's room, and Rey gasped when she saw Ben lying on the bed with the healers bent over him. Poe reached for her and Rey leaned into his side as the tears started to fall. Leia was leaning into Luke's side, tears streaming down her cheeks as well. Han arrived a few moments later, and he went to Leia, pulling her to him and holding her as close as he could as they watched their son, and then the room was silent but for the healers murmuring to each other.

They stood there for what felt like five hundred years to Rey before Harter stood up and turned to them. “The next days are going to be critical, but I think you got him back just in time. Another couple of hours and he would have been beyond our reach. Still, I would expect him to be unconscious for some time and if he survives, it will be a very long recovery.”

Luke nodded and thanked Harter and Hera before they left the room, and Rey and Leia went to Ben's sides. A couple of chairs were hastily gotten for them by attendants that had followed Han there, and they each grasped Ben's hands. Luke and Han were speaking lowly behind them but neither noticed what the words were, and then Han walked up to Leia and put a hand on her shoulder. 

“The King and I are going to go figure out what to tell the kingdom.”

Leia barely nodded in acknowledgment, and then Poe said he would go inform the Guard of what had happened. Maz said she would go begin to translate the texts they had found with Yoda, and the four of them left the room, leaving Rey and Leia crying at Ben's bedside, praying to the Force for his recovery.


	7. Chapter 7

**.9**

It had been a week since Ben returned from Ahch-To injured, and while his condition had not worsened, it had not improved either. Rey was almost permanently in tears, and Luke had relieved Finn and Rose from their duties temporarily to comfort her. Jannah also spent time in the healer's room with them, and while she was very upset, she did her best to maintain her composure in the company of the Royal Family. Rey wanted to spend every moment by Ben's side, but Harter told her that would not be good for her, and tasked Finn, Rose, and Jannah with making sure Rey spent no more than an hour at Ben's bedside, and that she did not return for at least an hour after she left. 

Leia's good friend Lady Amilyn Holdo arrived from Gatalenta, and Leia shut herself away with Amilyn in her chambers so that they could pray for Ben's recovery together. Chewbacca and Lando began to have tea with Rey in her chambers to help distract her, and Rey found comfort in the warm and friendly men that Ben considered as uncles. They were spending a lot of time with Han as well. Han was never at Ben's bedside whenever Rey was there, and she was very confused by his absence. She asked Leia why that was, and Leia told her that Han was too distraught to see his son that way. If things turned for the worse, Han would come, but otherwise he would stay away until Ben was awake. Han needed his friends around him at that moment, not a bunch of crying women.

Luke visited often, usually with Poe or Obi-Wan alongside. He got updates from Harter in the Throne Room three times a day, and he was very worried about the line of succession. If Ben died, there would be no heir, and the House of Skywalker would come to an end with Luke's death and with no one to continue on the monarchy. He asked for Obi-Wan to meet with him about the matter, and they began meeting regularly about it, trying to put together a plan as to what to do should Ben succumb to his injuries. The future of the monarchy at that moment looked very much in doubt.

Poe threw his energy into trying to figure out where the Knights of Ren had come from. Snap returned with the knights from Ahch-To, and he told Poe about what they had found when searching the men's bodies. There were several pieces of paper with markings that neither of them could understand, but then Snap brought a young knight before him. Lord Boba Fett was still rather new to the Guard, and he had lost his father Jango in the battle against Lord Snoke. Boba handed over the piece of paper he had found on one of the men, and Poe stared at it for several moments before determining that he had no idea what it was. Boba told him that he thought that it looked like a map, and he wondered if perhaps it could be a map of the Unknown Regions. Poe was instantly intrigued and thanked Boba for such an astute observation before telling Snap that they needed to get it to the King.

Poe and Snap went to the Master of the Throne Room and requested an audience, and when one was granted, they entered the Throne Room. “Your Majesty,” they said at the same time before bowing, and then they approached the throne.

“Something was found on the body of one of the Knights of Ren, Your Majesty,” Poe said, handing over the paper. “I did not know what it was at first, but the young knight who found it, Lord Boba Fett, believes it could be a map. He then wondered if perhaps it could be a map of the Unknown Regions.”

Luke studied it for several moments before nodding. “Well, it definitely could be a map, though I do not know how it could be a map of the Unknown Regions. However, if it is a map, it is a map to a part of Galactica that I have never seen before.”

“The survey of the knights that Poe had ordered was completed,” Snap said. “All knights are accounted for, so the men were not rebellious knights. They came from somewhere, and the name Ren has meant nothing to anyone that has been asked.”

“It means nothing to me as well,” Luke said, still looking at the map. “Still, I suppose there could be tribes that inhabit those mountains. We simply do not know what goes on in there because it is too treacherous to navigate.”

“Should I mobilize the Guard and prepare for an assault on the Unknown Regions?” Poe asked.

“No,” Luke said, shaking his head. “We need to wait and see what Master Yoda and Master Kanata find in those books first. I do not want to have to go in there unless it is absolutely necessary.”

Luke handed the map back to Poe. “Have this taken to Master Yoda and see what he thinks it is. Specifically ask him about the Unknown Regions. If anyone is going to know if that's a map, and if so, what that is a map of, it's Master Yoda.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Is there anything else?” Luke asked.

“With your permission,” Poe said, “I would like to take Snap to see Ben.”

Luke nodded. “Of course. And if Rey is in there, tell her that she needs to go rest. She cannot spend all of her time at his bedside.”

“I will try to make her do so,” Poe said.

“Then you are dismissed.”

Poe and Snap both bowed and then left the room. Poe took Snap to the healer's room and found Rey was not there, and they stood and watched Ben for a few moments. “He is not worse, but he is not better either.”

“That is better than him being worse,” Snap said before sucking in a deep breath. “I will go see how those who were injured are doing. You take that map to Master Yoda and then I will tell you more about the journey home.”

“He's going to be alright, Snap,” Poe said softly. “Have faith in that.”

“I will try to.”

They stood staring at Ben for a few more moments before leaving the room and going their separate ways.

**.10**

Leia was sitting at Ben's beside with Rey two weeks after his return to the castle, and while Rey was telling her that she was terrified that she would never get to speak to Ben again, Leia was studying her. She had begun to notice that something was different about Rey, but she had been unable to figure out what it was. At first, she had thought it was the stress before dismissing it, but when Harter came into the room and began speaking with Rey, it finally hit her what it was.

Leia would have smiled had her son not been in such a state in front of her.

When Harter had left the room and it was just the two of them alone with Ben, Leia turned to Rey. “When are you going to say something?”

Rey looked at her in confusion. “Say something about what?”

Leia couldn't stop the smile from finally coming. “I want to know when you are going to say something about my grandchild.”

Rey shook her head. “I have just been ill for some days, that is all,” she said dismissively, but Leia knew better.

“Rey, it is okay. You can tell me.”

Rey sat there for a few moments before nodding. “I just did not think it was right for me to say such a thing at this time.”

“Any bit of happiness is something to say at a time like this,” Leia said as Harter came back into the room. “You should ask Healer Kalonia what it is you need to do.”

“I do not think that it is the right time,” Rey started, but Leia just looked up at Harter.

“My daughter is pregnant,” she said, and a smile crossed Harter's face as well. 

“Congratulations, Your Royal Highness,” Harter said, putting a hand on Rey's shoulder. “And you really should have said something sooner. There are all sorts of things that need to be happening now.”

Harter began to list off things and Leia had her stop quickly, saying that an attendant was needed so a list could be made. Finn was called into the room a moment later to make the list of things that Rey should be eating and drinking, the amount of rest she should be getting every day, and other things that needed to be attended to. 

When Finn inquired as to why, Rey just gave him a shaky smile. “It is because I am pregnant,” she said quietly. 

Finn abandoned his work and walked over to her, bending down to hug her. Rey clung to him for a moment. “I am worried that Ben will never meet his child,” she whispered, and Finn hugged her tighter. 

“Have faith,” he said softly. “The Force will bring Ben back to us. It would not leave you to face this alone.”

When the list was finished, Leia told Finn to sit and talk with Rey for a while while she went to rest. Leia did not go back to her chambers, however. She approached the Master of Throne Room and requested an audience with her brother. When one was granted, Leia waited until the door was closed and they were truly alone before speaking. “Brother, I have some good news.”

“Has Ben's condition gotten better?” Luke asked, climbing down from the throne. “Healer Kalonia was just in here not half an hour ago and she did not say that.”

“No, it is not about Ben's condition,” Leia said. “But it is something that will help should he not recover.”

Luke gave her a confused look. “What are you speaking of?”

“Rey is pregnant,” Leia said, and Luke felt relief rush through him. 

“Really?”

“Yes,” Leia said, and Luke pulled her into a hug.

“Congratulations, Grandmother.”

“Let's hold off on calling me that for a bit longer,” Leia laughed.

“Another heir,” Luke said as he released her. “This is tremendous news given the situation we find ourselves in.”

“I came to tell you as soon as I could get away.”

“Keeping Rey healthy is now priority number one,” Luke said seriously. “Ben's fate is at the mercy of the Force, but Rey now carries the future of the monarchy and she needs to be taken care of properly.”

“I will speak with Finn and Jannah about keeping her comfortable at all times. Healer Kalonia has already been informed and a list has been made of everything that needs to be done daily.”

Luke let himself smile for the first time since Ben had arrived back injured. “Keep me informed of any change in anything, Leia. This is vitally important now.”

“I will, I promise. But promise me something?”

“What is it?”

“I don't want any announcements to the kingdom until either Ben dies or he can hear the news from Rey himself.”

Luke nodded. “Yes, that is something I can promise.”

Leia hugged her brother again. “I am going to go tell Han. Don't tell the rest of the council yet either.”

Luke just shook his head as Leia began to walk away. “For you ordering me around like that, I am going to call you Grandmother at every available chance now, I hope you know that.”

Leia laughed as she walked out of the room.

**.11**

Ben had been unconscious for nearly three weeks when Rey found herself sitting alone at his bedside. Leia had just left to go have tea with Amilyn, and Finn had gone to fetch Rey more of the special drink that Rose had been making for her. She had her eyes closed, one hand holding Ben's and the other on her stomach, trying to concentrate on the two things that meant the most to her at the same time.

Rey needed Ben to open his eyes. She did not know how she would survive on her own if he never did. She did not know how she could be a mother to their child without Ben there to see them grow. 

Rey stopped herself before she went too far down that train of thought, and she was trying to settle herself again when she heard a low groan. Her eyes shot open to see Ben moving his head around, more low groans escaping his lips. She squeezed his hand and leaned closer to him, saying his name and reaching up to brush the hair out of his eyes. It took a few moments but then Ben's eyes opened, and Rey had never been so happy in her life. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was in a lot of pain, and when Finn returned moments later with the drink, Rey told him to go get Leia without letting her eyes leave Ben's.

Finn turned and ran towards the Royal Family's private chambers while Rey smiled down at Ben. “Things are going to be alright now. I promise.”

Ben laid there for a few moments before his lips curled into a small smile. “Rey.”

“Shh,” Rey said softly. “Save your strength.”

She bent down and kissed him just as Leia came rushing in, and she gasped at the sight of Ben's open eyes when Rey pulled back. Ben turned his head to look at her as Leia sat down, and she grasped his hand and held it to her chest. “Oh, Ben. I have never been happier to see you.”

Ben groaned again as he tried to move, and Rey squeezed his hand. “Don't move,” she said. “It will only cause you pain. You have been badly injured.”

Luke and Han arrived a moment later, and both felt immense relief at the confirmation that Ben was finally awake. Harter walked in right after them, and she smiled at the sight of the prince's open eyes. “Your Royal Highness?” she asked, placing her hand on Leia's shoulder. “Can you move away for a moment so that I may check his wound?”

Leia nodded and stood up, and Harter pulled the bedsheet back and looked around the bandages before standing up and saying a few incantations. “That should help with the pain, Your Royal Highness.”

She turned to everyone then. “While it is wonderful news that the prince is awake, he does still need rest and not everyone staring at him.”

Luke nodded and thanked her before she left the room, and he turned to Han. “I will go get the happy news spread.”

“I will go tell Lord Dameron, and he can then tell the Guard,” Han said, bending down to kiss the top of Leia's head before they both left the room. 

Ben looked over at Rey again, and she smiled. “Close your eyes and go back to sleep. We will be right here next to you.”

Ben gave her a small smile again, murmured that he loved her, and closed his eyes. Leia and Rey looked at each other with wide smiles before they turned their attention back to Ben.

Rey had never been so relieved in her life.

The Force had guided Ben back to them.

**.12**

Luke called a council meeting after Obi-Wan informed him that Yoda had reached some conclusions on the possible map. Poe was standing in for Ben on the council while he recovered, and as soon as all were present, Luke addressed him first.

“What is the status of the census, Lord Dameron?”

“The list that we compiled has been compared to the list that was last taken,” Poe said. “The lists were done approximately three years apart, and every nobleman and woman that has been known to died was taken off. At that point, only one name remained missing from the new list, and that is Enric, Lord Pryde.”

“Lord Pryde was a skilled and loyal knight, Your Majesty,” Obi-Wan said. “His absence from the census is disturbing.”

“I agree,” Luke said. 

Poe continued talking. “I sent a company of knights out to his residence in Alsakan to check on him. He may have died without notice. He never did marry or father a child. If he is not found dead and is not there, I will let you know immediately. The company should return today.”

“Thank you, Lord Dameron,” Luke said. “Master Yoda, tell me what you have found out about this paper that has been thought to be a map.”

“I have studied the paper, Your Majesty, and have concluded that it is indeed a map. I believe that the young knight's observation was correct and that it is a map of the Unknown Regions.”

Luke sat back against the throne and just stared at Yoda for a moment. “They are too treacherous to navigate,” he finally said.

“To us, perhaps. To the people that live inside them, I would think it is a different story.”

“So you believe that there are people that live within them then,” Han said, and Yoda nodded.

“The Sith tribe took up residence in those mountains. I would be very surprised if their descendants do not still do.”

“A map of the Unknown Regions will be most helpful should the Guard need to be marched there,” Lando said, “but that will not help us find Kyber crystals to redo the Jedi's spells.”

“Master Kanata might have found something to help us with that,” Yoda said. “She came across a passage in a book that related to both the Unknown Regions and Kyber crystals. The passage refers to several caves of crystals that were magically sealed by the Jedi during their first exploration of the planet. This would have taken place before the separation of the Jedi and Sith tribes, so therefore also before the magic of the skies was cast.”

“Does this book state the location of these caves?” Luke asked.

“There is a primitive drawing with locations that I have tried to match up to the map that was found, but I have been unsuccessful.”

“Might I suggest that Snap take a look at it?” Poe offered. “He is the Guard's expert on maps and tracking.”

“Yes, that is a good idea. Make that happen now,” Luke said, and Poe and Yoda nodded before leaving the room. 

Once he was certain that they had gone, Luke turned to Han and smiled. “I think that it is time to share the happy news.”

“What happy news?” Chewbacca asked. “We are already aware of the fact that Ben is awake.”

“Yes, that is happy news, but this is even happier news,” Luke said. “An heir to the throne is to be born.”

Everyone had bright smiles on their faces after that. “That is wonderful news,” Obi-Wan said. “Not only for the realm but also for your family, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Lord Kenobi.”

Chewbacca walked over to Han and hugged him. “Congratulations, Grandfather.”

Han groaned. “I'm not ready for that word yet.”

Lando laughed. “I wonder if this child will be a terror the way Ben was when he was a child.”

Luke just chuckled. “I certainly hope not. I am surprised the castle is still standing.”

They all laughed and Luke motioned to the door. “Be on your way. And not a word about it to Ben. Rey should be the one who tells him herself.”

They agreed and left the room, leaving Luke sitting there hoping that the future heir was a little less rambunctious than their father had been.


	8. Chapter 8

**.13**

Snap stared at the map and the book for a while before reaching out and turning the map diagonally to the left. He immediately realized that had been incorrect, and he turned it diagonally to the right instead, and suddenly, everything seemed to just fall into place. “There.”

Poe and Yoda moved to look at it, and Yoda called out for Maz to bring the larger version of the map that they had made. He quickly noted the locations of all the caves, and they all looked at it together. 

“This one must be the one that Emperor Palpatine had found,” Poe said, pointing at the marking closest to the known entrance. 

“Yes, I would agree with that,” Snap said, reaching out to point at the next one. “Which means this is where we will likely find our culprit and his men.”

“Why do you think the caves are not still sealed, Master Yoda?” Poe asked.

“Master Kanata has a theory on that,” Yoda said, and they all turned to look at Maz.

“I have speculated that the Sith managed to unseal them so that they could access the crystals within. Depending on how much the ancient Jedi leaders were including the Sith when it came to casting the magic of the skies, it is possible that the Sith never realized that Kyber crystals were needed for those spells as well, and instead just found caves of them sealed. The Sith were not among the tribes selected to explore the planet upon arrival. They would not have known that those were there. With that many caves full of Kyber crystals, it explains why the skies still darkened there and are therefore why they chose there to cast their own spells.”

“And they thought that the cause of the darkness was the crystals,” Poe said after a moment. 

“Yes, that is a theory,” Maz said. “But once the skies over the mountains were constant darkness, they would not have needed the crystals anymore. I think that it is possible that these are the only two caves that were ever unsealed. We would not know unless we traveled to each one, of course, but for now, we know that this second cave must not be sealed.”

“Thank you, Master Kanata,” Poe said, turning to look at Yoda. “May we have a copy of that map, Master Yoda?”

“Take it with you,” Yoda said. “I will keep the smaller one and we will make another copy.”

“Thank you, Master Yoda,” Snap said, reaching for the map.

“Thank you, Lord Wexley, for figuring out how to correlate the drawing to it.”

Poe and Snap left the library. “Before we go to the King about this, I feel that we should put together a plan in case he wants the Guard mobilized immediately,” Poe said as they walked. “That way, we will be able to mobilize faster.”

“This will also give us time to let the company return from Alsakan. They should be back by sundown,” Snap said, and so they headed in the direction of the Guard's headquarters. 

They had been pouring over the map for hours trying to figure out how to march the entire Guard through the pathways when Lord Kanan Jarrus walked into the room. “We have just returned, Lord Dameron.”

Poe stood and turned towards him. “And what of Lord Pryde?”

“Lord Pryde's residence appears abandoned,” Kanan said. “A thorough search of the residence and property turned up no body, and residents in the city said that he has not been seen since around the time that Lord Snoke was last seen before his journey to the Unknown Regions.”

Poe and Snap looked at each other before Snap reached for the map. “Thank you for the information, Lord Jarrus,” Poe said. “We must take this to the King.”

Kanan nodded and left, and then Poe and Snap headed in the direction of the Throne Room. They requested an audience and were granted one, and as soon as the doors shut, Luke called out. 

“What have you found?”

“The company has returned from Alsakan, Your Majesty. Lord Pryde's residence is abandoned. Residents of the city told Lord Jarrus that he has not been seen since around the time that Lord Snoke was last seen before his journey to the Unknown Regions,” Poe said.

“Interesting,” Luke said, turning his attention to what was in Snap's hand. “And what is this?”

“This is a larger version of the map taken off the Knights of Ren,” Snap said, handing it over. “Comparing the smaller map to the drawing proved successful. The markings are the locations of the caves of Kyber crystals.”

Luke studied the map intently. “And it is possible that all of these caves are unsealed?”

“It is possible, though we believe at the moment that it might only be the first two. The first would be the one that Emperor Palpatine found, and the second is where we believe we will find Lord Pryde and his men.”

Luke stared at the map for a few moments before rolling it up and sighing heavily. “I suppose we no longer have a choice but to send the Guard to the Unknown Regions. I agree that Lord Pryde and his men are at one of those caves, and he needs to be stopped before any more damage can be done.”

“While we were waiting for the company sent to Alsakan to return, Snap and I put together the beginnings of a plan. We could have the whole Guard ready to mobilize in around a month,” Poe said.

“The soonest it can happen,” Luke said, handing the map back to Snap. “Keep me up to date on preparations.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You are dismissed.”

Luke climbed down from the throne as soon as the two knights had left, and he made his way out of the room as well. He headed through the hallways to the healer's room, and when he walked in, he found Han there talking with Ben. He did not want to interrupt a moment between father and son, but he wanted to talk to Ben about what was happening, and Han needed to hear it as well.

“Lord Pryde's residence has been abandoned,” Luke said, and Ben gave him a curious look. 

“Lord Pryde?”

“We believe he is the one in the Unknown Regions who has done this damage to the skies,” Han said, turning to look at Luke. “He could be anywhere in there.”

“Lord Wexley has been able to match up the map with the drawing that shows the locations of the caves of Kyber crystals,” Luke said. “The locations have been plotted. The Guard will be going to the second cave. We expect that they will find Lord Pryde and his men there.”

“You are sending them into the Unknown Regions for a battle?” Ben asked in disbelief. “Are you trying to lose the entire Guard, Your Majesty?”

“I do not want to lose anyone,” Luke said firmly. “But this has to stop before any more harm can be done. I have resisted this for a long time, Ben. I do not want to put the Guard into danger. It has reached a point where I have no choice but to do it.”

Ben nodded after a moment. “I am quite sad that I will not be there to march with them then.”

“You have done enough marching for one lifetime,” Han said firmly, and Luke could sense an argument.

“I will send Lord Dameron in here to explain what is happening from the Guard's perspective,” he said before Ben could say a word. “He can bring you regular updates on what is happening before the Guard sets out in around a month's time.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I would appreciate that.”

“Have you spoken with Rey alone yet?” Luke asked.

“No, we have been unable to because of everyone coming in and out.”

“I will arrange for some time alone for the two of you then,” Luke said, and he motioned to the door. 

Han stood and Luke followed him out of the room, and Rey came in a few minutes later. The door to the room was shut behind her, and she sat down next to Ben's bed with a smile. “A knight of the King's Guard has been posted outside so that we may be alone for a while.”

Ben shook his head. “That is a bit much for a simple conversation with my wife.”

“The King only wanted to make sure that no one interrupted us,” Rey said, knowing the reason why that was but unsure that she could actually say it.

She bent down to kiss him instead, and when Rey pulled back, Ben studied her for a moment. He could not remember her ever looking so beautiful. “You look stunning.”

Rey took a deep breath. “Well, there is a reason for that.”

“I am confined to a bed in the healer's room, Rey. There is no need to make yourself look your best just to see me.”

“I always want to look my best to see you, but this is something different.” Ben gave her a confused look, and Rey took another deep breath. “I look this way because I am pregnant.”

Ben broke out into the biggest grin that Rey had ever seen. “Really?”

Rey nodded, moving their intertwined hands over her stomach, and Ben stared at her in wonder. He caressed her with his fingers, knowing that their child was growing beneath them, and nothing had ever made him so amazed before. 

Rey looked up at him and found tears in his eyes, and she reached up to wipe away the few that had begun to slip down his cheeks. “Are you happy?”

“I have never been so happy in my life,” Ben said. “Before you came into my life, I had begun to think that I never would get to be so happy. I thought that I would marry a daughter of a noble house that I knew I would never love, but then you came into my life and my entire world changed. This...this has made me more than happy. I cannot find the words for it.”

“You changed my entire world too, and now this child will change ours together.”

Ben nodded in agreement. “I promise you, I will never do anything that will take me away from you or our child.”

Rey hoped that meant that he would stop riding out with the Guard, but she did not say anything as she did not want to ruin their happy moment with an argument. “That makes me happy to hear.”

“Does everyone know?” Ben asked, and Rey nodded.

“Your mother figured it out and then everyone knew very quickly.”

“Of course everyone knew quickly if she is the one who figured it out.” Rey slapped at his arm and Ben smiled. “You cannot tell me that I'm wrong.”

“That is not a nice thing to say about your mother,” Rey admonished. “She has been nothing but kind to me.”

“I would expect nothing less from her,” Ben clarified. “I just also know that telling everyone everything is her specialty.”

“I think that you are probably right. But I feel that she did this out of necessity. I think it was a relief to them in the days when we were not sure if you would wake up.”

“Well, that is something that never has to be thought of again,” Ben said, caressing her stomach once more. “Instead, we have much happier things to think about. Will you tell me how you have been feeling? What has been done to help care for you?”

Rey nodded and began to answer his questions, and Ben laid there with a grin on his face the entire time she talked.

He was going to be a father.

**.14**

By the time that the Guard was prepared to march towards the Unknown Regions, Ben had been moved to the bedroom he shared with Rey, though he was confined to the bed. He knew that the day was drawing closer to when the Guard would be leaving, but when Jannah escorted Poe into the room and he saw the sword hanging at Poe's side, he knew the time had come. “When do you leave?”

“In about an hour,” Poe said, taking a deep breath. “This is very strange to be doing without you.”

“It is very strange for me as well,” Ben said, smiling at him. “But I know that things are in very good hands.”

“I promise to lead the Guard to victory in your absence,” Poe said. “I will be smart about how we approach things and try to limit the casualties as best I can.”

“I know that you will,” Ben said, nodding. “Talk things through with Snap. He is more than just a tracker. He is good with tactics as well.”

“I plan to. Lord Jarrus and Lord Bridger have also been elevated to help lead in your absence.”

“I am glad to know that there are knights that I trust who will be helping lead in this endeavor.”

Rey came into the room then, and when she saw Poe standing there, she smiled. “I take it that you are about to leave, Poe.”

“In an hour's time,” Poe said, and Rey walked over, hugging him. 

“I wish you well on your journey and for the battle to come,” Rey said. “The Force will be with you.”

“Thank you, Rey,” Poe said, turning back to Ben. “I will come to tell you the results of the battle as soon as we return.”

“I will appreciate that. Farewell, Poe,” Ben said.

“Farewell, Ben,” Poe said, and he stood there for another moment before leaving.

Once he was gone, Rey laid down on the bed next to Ben, and Ben tucked her into his good side. They laid in silence for a few moments before Rey brought up the question that had been on her mind. “What is the way that the line of succession works?”

“I would think that is very simple to work out.”

Rey took a deep breath. “I am just worried that our child will not be the heir that is expected.”

Ben was confused for a moment before what Rey was saying hit him, and suddenly he became worried as well. “The line of succession has been for men only for thousands of years,” he murmured.

Rey felt her despair deepen. “I see.”

“That matters not to me,” Ben said, trying not to let on how he was now terrified. “I only care that our child is healthy and grows up happy.”

“Really?” Rey asked, her voice small.

“Yes, really,” Ben said, bending to kiss her hair. “I would like for us to have a daughter at some point so that you may dote upon her the way that I know my mother would have liked to have doted upon a daughter.”

“Leia has spoken to me about your parents' struggles to have another child after you were born,” Rey mentioned. “She said that she believes that her difficult labor with you had damaged things inside of her vital to having a child and therefore she was not able to carry another.”

“I have heard that before when I asked why I had never had a sibling,” Ben said softly. “I've felt guilty about costing my parents another child ever since.”

“Stop that,” Rey said firmly. “Leia would not be happy should she learn that you feel that way.”

“I will try.”

“Hearing her say such things made me worry that our child will be a daughter and the same thing happen to me,” Rey started, but Ben wasn't going to let her go down that train of thought.

“The Force will bless us with more than one child, Rey. I believe that. And if it happens that it does not, then our child will be the most loved child in the entire universe, regardless of whether they are a son or a daughter.”

Rey smiled and leaned into Ben more. “How do you always know what to say to comfort me?”

“It must be a special talent,” Ben said, kissing her hair again. 

“How are you feeling today?” Rey asked.

“I feel better than last week, but I am still in quite a bit of pain,” Ben said. “Healer Kalonia told me that is natural though. She has been coming to check on me several times a day, and she always says incantations that ease the pain for a while.”

“That is good to hear,” Rey said, and she thought for a moment if she should ask Ben about riding out with the Guard no more before deciding not to. The moment felt too peaceful to interrupt. “I think that there is love going on in our midst.”

“What does that mean?”

“I believe that Finn has fallen in love with Jannah. He has been quite distracted lately and refuses to tell me anything about it or how much time he has been spending with her.”

“Interesting,” Ben mused. “I am not certain that you are correct though.”

“Why do you think that?”

“I agree that Finn has seemed distracted lately, but I am not sure that the reason is Jannah. I have always felt that they were only friends and that Finn's attention was elsewhere.”

Rey thought about that for a moment. “I shall have to study Finn's interactions more carefully then. He is certainly taken by someone, that is for sure.”

“That I agree with,” Ben said, closing his eyes. “I feel as though I should sleep, but I do not want you to leave.”

“Then I will stay, and we shall nap together.”

“I like the sound of that.”


	9. Chapter 9

**.15**

Rey was just returned from having tea with Chewbacca in his chambers to find Rose in her dining room, and she noticed that Rose seemed particularly happy. “You look as though you are having a good day.”

“I am having a very good day,” Rose confirmed. “I am here because I have brought your lunch.”

Rey looked over at the table and saw a jar of jam on it, and she smiled. “You have made me jam?”

“Pear jam because I knew that you had been most taken by that one,” Rose said, and Rey smiled as she sat down. 

“I am most happy that I will get to taste your excellent jam again. You should make it more often so that the entire castle can enjoy them. You are very talented at making them.”

“I do not think the head of the kitchens would allow me to do that,” Rose said.

“Is it something that you would like to do though?”

Rose nodded. “Making jams allows me to feel closer to my mother and sister,” she said softly. “It was something we used to do together for our master.”

Rey resolved to talk to Leia about how she could make allowing Rose to make jams for the castle happen. “I am glad that you have something that is connected to them to hold onto.”

“As am I,” Rose said, smiling at her. “I need to return to the kitchens. I hope that you enjoy the lunch.”

Finn walked into the room before Rose could leave, and Rey noted the smiles that they exchanged with curiosity before Rose left. Finn turned his attention to Rey and noticed the jar on the table. “Rose made you jam?”

“Yes, she has,” Rey confirmed. “I am going to see how I can make it so she is allowed to make them for the whole castle. She does not think the head of the kitchens would allow her to do that.”

“I am sure that she would be much appreciative of that. She told me once that the process reminds her of her family.”

“She was just telling me that as well,” Rey said as she reached for a piece of bread. “Do you have time to sit with me or have you come here for another reason?”

“I do not have time at the moment, no,” Finn said. “I have come to tell you that Sabine and Ahsoka will be coming to speak with you after your lunch is over. New clothes need to be made again to accommodate your growing stomach.”

Rey put her hand on it and nodded. “I am very happy about things, Finn, but I am also very scared.”

Finn sat down across from her and reached out to take Rey's hand. “I think that is natural. I know that if I was the one who was about to become a parent, I would be very scared as well, and I am not the one who would have to give birth.”

Rey gave him a small smile. “The thought of going through such an experience without Ben by my side is part of my fear.”

“I am sure that Ben will be by your side, Rey.”

“Leia has explained to me how royal births work,” Rey said. “The father is not by his wife's side during it.”

Finn just shook his head. “I think that can probably be changed.”

“I am not sure about that.”

“Rey, you coming into the Royal Family helped to progress it forward,” Finn pointed out. “Why should you not progress it forward in this manner as well?”

“I suppose that you are right about that, but I do not want to ruin traditions.”

“Talk to Ben about it,” Finn suggested. “I feel as though he would want to be by your side.”

“I will do so,” Rey said, and Finn stood up. 

“I will get back to what I was doing. Expect the ladies soon.”

Rey nodded and reached for the jam as he walked out of the room, and she thought about the smiles that he and Rose had exchanged. They did not seem like any smiles she had seen them give each other before.

Curious. Very curious.

**.16**

It was nearly a month of marching before the Guard arrived at the entrance to the Unknown Regions, and they discovered that the skies above them were now gray clouds as well, though these clouds were much darker than the rest has been. After a couple of nights' rest, Poe told the Guard to fall into formation and then got out the map. As he looked at it, he wished that Ben could have been there with him. Going into battle had always been easier with Ben by his side.

Poe looked over at Snap and nodded before handing him the map. “Lead on.”

Snap looked down at it before nodding as well, and then the Guard began their march. As they made their way through the mountains, Poe noted all the places where they were curving left when before they had curved right, and he thought that at least one good thing had come from the battle in Ahch-To. It was a few days march before they came upon the first cave, and after a search of it, it was discovered to be empty.

“On to the next then,” Poe said, and Snap held up the map near a torch.

“There is a marking on this map before we reach the next cave,” he pointed out. “It was marked on the original map that was found, not something that we have added upon finding that drawing.”

Poe looked at it as well. “I do not know what that marking could be.”

“We are at least two weeks away from it at the pace in which we are forced to march.”

“Perhaps it is a settlement of one of the tribes we believe lives here,” Poe speculated. 

“That could be it,” Snap said. “We have no idea about who dwells there or what kind of warriors they may have.”

Poe thought about it for a moment. “The Guard will be ready for a fight as we approach it, but not in attack formation. I do not want to engage in a fight if a more diplomatic solution can be found.”

“I agree.”

“Then on we go.”

The Guard resumed their march and made their way on narrow paths around cliffs. Large boulders had fallen into the path at one point, but thankfully the path was much wider by then and the Guard was able to ease around them. When they approached the marking, they found that it was indeed a settlement. As they came closer, the tribe members began to notice them, and by the time that they had reached it, the tribe's leaders had come to meet them.

“We know not who you are, but we do not want any trouble,” one of them said, and Poe nodded.

“We are the King's Royal Guard. I am Lord Poe Dameron. May I ask who you are?”

The leaders introduced themselves, and then Poe asked for the name of their tribe. When he heard it was Ren, he knew that this was where the Knights of Ren had come from. “Who are your knights and why did you send a party into the countryside to terrorize and murder?”

“We have no knights, only warriors,” the leader said. “And we did not send anyone anywhere to do anything of that sort. We are a relatively peaceful people, for all that our warriors are trained to defend the settlement should another tribe attack.”

Poe studied them for a moment before deciding that it must be Lord Pryde who had sent them. “Has someone approached you looking for Kyber crystals?”

“Yes, and a party of tribe members took him to a nearby cave,” the leader said.

“How many were there in his party?”

“It was just the one man.”

After hearing that, Poe wondered if perhaps Lord Pryde had been working alone this whole time. He thanked the tribe's leaders and then the Guard marched on. It was another four days before they approached the cave, and when they arrived at it, they found a man pacing back and forth in front of it, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were there. 

Poe took his sword and struck it against a boulder, and the man jumped. He looked at the size of the army that was before him and knew he was no match for it, so he held up his hands. “I am just an innocent man,” he said. “I can cause you no harm.”

“It is not harm to us I am worried about,” Poe said, turning to Kanan and Ezra. “Lead a small party to search the cave.”

The knights nodded and Poe and Snap approached the man. When they were close enough, Poe recognized him as Enric, Lord Pryde, and knew that they had their man. “What is it that you have done to the skies?”

“I have done nothing to the skies,” Enric said quickly. “I am just as shocked as you are.”

“Why are there clouds above the Unknown Regions then?” Snap asked, and Enric had no answer for them.

Poe continued questioning him on why he was at that cave until Ezra came up to him, holding out a book. “This was found next to some of the crystals,” he said, and Poe took it from him.

He looked through it briefly and saw that it was full of spells before holding the book up. “What is this?”

Enric stared at it for a moment before knowing that he'd been caught. “Alright, so I did something to the skies, but I don't know what, and I've been trying to fix it but nothing has been happening.”

“What have you been trying to fix it to?” Poe asked, and Enric answered without thinking.

“Eternal darkness.”

Poe turned to Snap. “Bind his hands.”

Snap moved to do so as Enric looked at him, eyes wide. “What is going to happen to me?”

“You will be marched back to Coruscant,” Poe said. “And then after that, you are at the King's mercy.”

**.17**

Rey had been walking the hallways when she ran into Chewbacca, and he invited her to have tea with him and Lando. She graciously declined the offer so that she could spend time with Ben. Chewbacca had understood and suggested the next day, to which Rey happily agreed. She was enjoying getting to know the two men that Ben considered uncles, and she found them very kind and jovial. When she returned to her chambers, she asked if tea could be brought to her and Ben in their bedroom, and Finn made that happen. 

When the doors were closed and they were alone, Ben turned to Rey with a smile. “It was nice of you to think of having tea with me. I have missed us having tea together.”

“I have missed it as well. We will have to do this more often until you are well enough to come into the sitting room.”

“I would like that.”

“We should also have tea with Han and Leia once you are able,” Rey said, and Ben nodded.

“I would really like that. I have a new appreciation for family. Every moment that I see any of you, but especially you, is a moment that I treasure.”

They talked idly about things that were going on at court, but Ben could tell that Rey was distracted and once their cups were finished, he reached out and took her hand. “What is it that is on your mind?”

Rey was quiet for a moment before turning to face him. “Leia has explained to me how a royal birth will go and the explanation has scared me.”

Ben squeezed her hand and smiled at her. “It will be alright. I will be right there by your side during all of it.”

“That is part of what has scared me,” Rey explained. “Leia said that the father is not by his wife's side during it, but in another room. The father only comes in once the child has been born.”

“That is unacceptable,” Ben said immediately. “If you have to go through the difficult experience of childbirth, then I am going to be by your side for it. I know that Healer Kalonia and Healer Syndulla will take every precaution necessary and say every incantation that they can, but I am still afraid that something will happen and I will lose you the way my mother lost hers. I am going to be there next to you. I am not going to be told that something happened while I was in another room.”

Rey leaned into his good side. “I am afraid of the same thing, and I want nothing more than for you to be by my side.”

“I promise that I will be. I will speak to Jannah and Finn about what is to happen and I will talk to my uncle if necessary to make sure that I am by your side throughout things.”

“Thank you,” Rey said quietly.

Ben leaned over to kiss her. “Nothing will happen to you, Rey. We will be blessed with a healthy child, and you will remain healthy as well, though I understand you will be weakened for a few weeks by the ordeal.”

“I hope that you are right.”

“Do not hope it, believe it,” Ben said, kissing her again. “You should speak to Healer Kalonia about the magic that is used to protect a woman that is giving birth because it might ease your mind some.”

“I will do so,” Rey said as Ben yawned, and she gave him a soft smile. “You should rest.”

“I will once you leave,” Ben said, yawning again.

“Then I will leave because you quite clearly need some rest,” Rey said, climbing off the bed. “I will send someone to collect everything and then you sleep for a while.”

Ben nodded. “I will do so if you go speak with Healer Kalonia. The sooner your mind is eased, the better things will be.”

“That is an agreement I can make,” Rey said as she walked to the door. “I will see you later.”

“I love you, Rey.”

Rey paused at the door and turned back to him with a brilliant smile. “I love you as well.”

**.18**

Rey had wanted some fresh air, so she had gone into the market with Finn. She was now more comfortable with people bowing and curtsying though she still felt weird about it, and she was enjoying talking with the villagers and the booth operators she had once purchased things from. She was in conversation with one of them when the sound of marching hit them, and then a cry went up that the Guard approached. 

“I want to go find out the results of the battle,” she said to Finn, and Finn nodded.

“Then we will go to the Guard's headquarters.”

Rey said thank you to the man she'd been speaking to before Finn held out his arm, and then they slowly walked to the Guard's headquarters as the army marched into the village. As she watched them, she began to realize that the Guard had lost very few men because it looked like it was nearly at full strength. By the time that they reached the headquarters, Poe was just getting off his horse, Snap next to him. A couple of knights approached with what looked like a prisoner before she could speak.

“What are we to do with him, Lord Dameron?”

“Show him to a cell in the jail,” Poe said, taking off his sword. “That will be his home until the King decides to hear him out.”

“Lord Dameron,” the man said, the tone of his voice pleading, “I did nothing but try to fulfill Galactica's destiny.”

“Stop talking before I have you shut up,” Poe said sharply. “And your pleading means nothing to me. It is the King that will decide your fate.”

The knights led the man away before he could say another word, and Poe smiled at Rey. “Hello, Rey.”

“Poe,” Rey said, waiting until he had removed his armor before pulling him into a hug. “I am glad to know that you two survived the battle. Ben will be very happy to hear that.”

“There was no battle,” Snap said, taking the book out of his bag. “I will go deal with the horses, Poe.”

“Thank you,” Poe said, holding out the book to Rey. “We found only him and this book of spells.”

Rey opened it and looked through its pages. “What do you think it is?”

“Look at the wording on the final page.”

Rey turned to it and found what Poe had been talking about.

_To my most loyal servant Lord Pryde for helping to make this achievement happen. May this book reside within your family's library for thousands of years and serve as a reminder that you were one of the men who helped Emperor Palpatine achieve eternal darkness._

“This is a book that Emperor Palpatine gave him?”

“Not him, but his father. His father was one of the knights that mined the cave for him. He was pardoned along with the others because he said that he had no knowledge of what was really happening. This book, however, proves otherwise.”

“So what do you think that these spells are for then?”

“I think they are the spells that Emperor Palpatine was using to change the magic of the skies,” Poe said simply.

Rey looked up from the book. “I thought that the book that Emperor Palpatine used had been destroyed.”

“It was. I believe this to be a copy of it,” Poe said, taking the book back. “If Lord Pryde was given a copy of it, then that brings into question how many other copies of it there are in the libraries of the other knights that were pardoned.”

“That sounds worrying.”

“It is,” Poe confirmed. “I need to get this to the King and inform him of what has happened.”

“I will go tell Ben that you have returned and of what you have told me.”

“Thank you,” Poe said. “I will stop by once my audience with the King is over and see how he is doing.”

Rey nodded and they parted ways. As they walked back into the castle, Rey told Finn about her worry that there were more of these books, and they passed Rose once they were inside. She could not stay and talk, but Rey noticed that she and Finn exchanged those smiles again, and she found her curiosity about them deepening. She did not have time to ask Finn about them before they reached her chambers again, and she went into the bedroom to speak to Ben.

“How are you doing, Rey?” Ben asked before she could say anything. “You said you did not feel well this morning.”

“I am feeling better now,” Rey said. “I have come with some news. The Guard has returned.”

Ben sucked in a sharp breath. “How bad is it?”

“It is not bad at all,” Rey said. “There was no battle.”

Ben gave her a confused look, and Rey told him everything that Poe had said. Ben felt immediate relief that the Guard had not lost large quantities of men, but he was deeply concerned. “The thought that there may be more of these books is troubling.”

Rey sat down on the bed and reached for Ben's hand. “Do not worry about that right now. Concentrate on the fact that this attempt has been stopped before thinking that there may be another.”

Ben nodded. “I will try to do so. Is there somewhere you must be?”

“No, there is nowhere I must be right now,” Rey said.

“Then will you stay with me for a while?” Ben asked. “I am feeling rather lonely today.”

Rey nodded and shifted around until she was lying next to him. “I will stay with you for as long as you want.”


	10. Chapter 10

**.19**

Luke let Enric sit in that jail cell for weeks before he decided to hear him out. By the time that he did, Ben was well enough to be out of bed, though he was forced to walk very slowly and needed to sit down immediately when he got to where he was going. He insisted on being in the Throne Room for this occasion, and Luke was happy to allow him. He knew that Ben needed resolution on this problem more than perhaps anyone.

Enric was brought before the council and forced onto his knees, and he found it odd that Ben was sitting in a smaller chair next to the throne. Whenever he'd been in the Throne Room before, such a chair had not existed. Before he could ask, Luke spoke to him.

“How did this book come into your possession?” he asked, holding it up.

Enric explained how Emperor Palpatine had given it to his father and it was then passed onto him to ensure that Galactica's destiny could be fulfilled, and Luke interrupted him before he could go any farther.

“And what is this destiny you believe Galactica has?”

“Eternal darkness,” Enric said. “The beauty of darkness is something that everyone should be experiencing. There are small points of light in it that the Sith had called stars, and the sight of them is quite extraordinary. I cannot wait until the entire planet can experience what it is I have always dreamed of. When I first arrived at the Unknown Regions with Lord Snoke and saw the stars, I felt honored that the Force had brought me to a place where I could finally see them. My father had promised that we would go together but that never happened.”

“Lord Snoke?” Luke asked. “You went to the Unknown Regions with him?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, Lord Snoke and I traveled there together.”

“And you knew of his attempt to weaken the magic of the skies?”

“Yes. I was the one who provided the spells to do so.”

“Then why were you not with Lord Snoke when his army marched on Coruscant?”

“I was left behind with the book,” Enric explained. “Lord Snoke did not believe that there were enough crystals remaining in the cave we were at to complete the spells required, so he sent me in search of some more. When I learned that Lord Snoke and the army had been slaughtered, I knew that the Force had chosen me to bring about Galactica's destiny.”

“I am told that you approached a tribe called the Ren for help in this endeavor,” Luke said, and Enric nodded.

“They were most helpful in finding the cave where I was apprehended, and the men that took me there were very kind.”

“Did you knight those men?”

Enric nodded again. “Yes, I did, and then I sent them into the countryside as a distraction.”

Luke looked over at Poe. “Lord Dameron, tell Lord Pryde the damage that the men he knighted wrought.”

Poe opened up the scroll in his hand. “Those men killed nearly a thousand people, burned nearly two hundred different settlements to the ground, and nearly cost the realm its prince.”

Enric gave him a look of confusion. “Nearly cost the realm its prince?”

“I was present at the battle in which these men were slaughtered,” Ben spoke up. “One of them nearly killed me, therefore why I was not present when you were apprehended.”

Enric immediately began to apologize for the men's actions, saying that he only meant for them to terrorize and kill at will, not nearly kill the prince, and that just made Luke shake his head.

“If you had only sought to undo the magic of the skies, perhaps I could allow you to live out the rest of your days in the cell you were just taken from, but your actions cost many, many good people their lives and the kingdom is poorer for their loss. You are to be taken out to the scaffold and put to death for these crimes.”

Enric tried to protest but was hauled off the floor by the knights standing next to him and then led from the room. 

Luke sighed once the doors were shut. “To think that he was once considered loyal.”

“Emperor Palpatine was once thought to be loyal too,” Obi-Wan said. “You can never really know where one's heart truly lies.”

“At least we now understand where Lord Snoke learned the spells that he was using,” Han said. “That had been a question that was unanswered.”

“Yes, the answer to that question is more comforting to me than I expected it would be,” Luke said, holding out the book. “Lord Kenobi, will you take this book back to Master Yoda? He is still trying to work out a way in which to reverse what has been done to the skies.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Obi-Wan said, taking the book and then leaving the room. 

“We need to schedule the execution then,” Lando said, and Chewbacca nodded. 

“And determine who is to deliver the felling blow.”

“I will do it,” Ben said immediately, and Han shook his head.

“You can barely stand on your own, Ben. You are not able to carry out an execution.”

“Your father is right,” Luke said before Ben could protest. “Lord Dameron will carry this out as the head of the Royal Guard.”

Ben realized that he was not going to win that fight and nodded. “Then I will be a witness.”

“No, you will not be doing that either,” Luke said, turning to Poe. “Arrange for the execution to be carried out as soon as possible.”

“It should be able to be done in around an hour,” Poe said. “All that would really need to happen is for the villagers to be informed should Your Majesty deem the rest of the council as witnesses.”

“I shall do so. Go make all the arrangements. You all are dismissed. Except for you, Ben,” Luke said, and when everyone had left the room, he climbed down from the throne and faced his nephew.

“I will do whatever is needed to help restore the skies to sunshine,” Ben said before Luke could say a word. “Anything.”

“The only thing I want from you is an admission that your role needs to change,” Luke said seriously. “You have been the only heir to the throne from the moment you were born, and while I have been more than happy to allow you to live a life that has not been burdened by duty, the time for that has come to an end. Yes, there is going to be another heir now and that is wonderful, but that still means that the line of succession is fragile. If your near-death experience has taught me anything, it is that I have been incredibly reckless to allow you to go riding out with the Guard when you are the only hope of the House of Skywalker.

“I had conversations with Lord Kenobi while you were unconscious about what to do should you have died, and neither of us ever came up with a solution. It is more important to keep the heir to the throne alive than anything, especially when there are so few. I was incredibly relieved when I learned that Rey was pregnant because it meant that there would be another heir. It is so vitally important to Galactica that the House of Skywalker continues. There would be entirely too much uncertainty should it not.”

Ben sat there and listened to what Luke had to say, and every time he mentioned that there would be another heir, Ben's heart sank. Ever since his conversation with Rey, he had been terrified that their child would be a daughter and therefore let everyone down, and while he had kept himself from speaking about it with her because he knew it also troubled her, he knew that the time had come for him to say something to someone. 

Luke was just finishing talking about how there was a different, more diplomatic role in Ben's future when Ben spoke softly. “And what if our child is to be a daughter instead of a son?”

“Why are you so worried about that? You will love your child nonetheless.”

“But the line of succession...”

Luke studied him for a moment before realizing that this was something that had been troubling Ben a lot. “If you and Rey are to be blessed with a son, then the kingdom will celebrate the birth of a new prince. If your child is to be a daughter, and she to be your only child, or you to only be blessed with daughters, then Galactica will prepare for its first Queen Regnant.”

Ben had his head down but he looked up at that. “Girls are not allowed to be heirs to the throne. Mama is not.”

“Things can be changed.”

“But the thousands of years of tradition,” Ben started, and Luke just chuckled.

“Things can be changed, Ben. There were thousands of years in which a prince could not marry someone who was not of noble blood, but Rey has helped us progress on from that. Now, if you are blessed with only daughters, she will be helping us progress on from this as well.”

Ben stared at his uncle until he realized that Luke was being serious, and then he sighed with relief. “I feel so much better upon hearing you say this.”

“You should have talked to me about this already if it was troubling you so,” Luke said. “And I think you have been out of bed long enough now. Let me walk you back to your chambers.”

Ben nodded and carefully got to his feet, and then Luke held out his arm. Ben latched on to it and they walked slowly in the direction of Ben's chambers, talking about how Rey had been feeling lately. 

When they reached the door, Ben turned to Luke. “I will stop riding out, but I would like to remain involved with the Guard in some capacity. I do not want to just abandon my fellow knights.”

“I think that is a good idea,” Luke said. “We can work out the details later. For now, you need to rest.”

Ben nodded and then accepted the help of Jannah when the door opened, Luke saying goodbye to them both as Ben carefully walked into his chambers. He requested help going straight to the bedroom because he was quite tired, and Jannah walked him there. He asked for some time alone and she said she would keep everyone away, and when he told her to include Rey in that, she said that she would. 

He laid down on the bed as the door closed and then he closed his eyes. The right words needed to be found to explain to Rey everything that had just been spoken about with Luke, and he hoped that during his rest, he would be able to find them.

**.epilogue**

The search of the libraries of the families of the pardoned Imperial Guard knights that Luke had ordered was finished, and it turned up no other copies of the book. Upon learning that, Luke ordered the book destroyed. Yoda lamented the loss of such a piece of Galactica's history for a moment before agreeing with the decision. It was just too much of a risk to have those spells survive, even if the book only resided in his vast library. 

The book was destroyed by fire on the day that Yoda approached Luke with good news. He and Maz had finally gotten the texts from Ahch-To translated and discovered numerous spells that had been done not only to fix what the Sith had done to the skies but also to strengthen the magic of the skies thereafter. None of the spells that Yoda had found required more Kyber crystals than the Guard had brought back with them and Luke told him to bring back the sunshine as quickly as possible. Yoda worked with Maz to figure out which of the spells would reverse the particular problem of the clouds, and within two days, the light had returned. When the village became bathed in sunshine again, a cheer so loud went up that it could be heard inside the castle. 

Maz was sent with a company of the Guard to find the caves in the Unknown Regions and make sure they were magically sealed so no one could use the crystals for anything again. When a messenger returned, it was with news that the skies over the Unknown Regions were now sunshine as well. The light had made the once treacherous mountains easy to navigate, and paths that had not even been seen to the eyes of the tribes that dwelled within them were now evident. The tricky way that the Guard had marched through on those first few days was now an easier path through beautiful scenery, and it was expected the rest would be as well. 

Luke ordered the Unknown Regions to be properly mapped and that contact was to be made with all of the tribes that resided within them. Yoda was happy that he would receive information about these tribes that would further complete the collection of the complete history of Galactica that he had spent so many years working with and compiling. Poe went to tell Ben the news about the Unknown Regions, but Finn and Jannah stopped him in his tracks. Ben and Rey were spending time alone together, and they were not to be disturbed.

In the room they shared, they were lying together on the bed, Rey's head on Ben's shoulder, Ben's hand gently rubbing Rey's stomach. They were down to only a few weeks before the birth of their child, and lying there with Rey was the perfect type of peace in Ben's eyes. He looked forward to many years of it to come. 

He had finally found the right words to tell Rey about what Luke and he had been discussing, but before he could speak, Rey spoke first. 

“You were right about Finn and Jannah. They are only friends.” 

“How did you arrive at that conclusion?” 

“I was returning from tea in your mother's chambers when I spotted Finn in the hallway with Rose,” Rey explained. “And it was evident by the fact that they were kissing that it was Rose who Finn was taken with, not Jannah.” 

Ben couldn't help but smile at the thought of their two friends finding love with each other. “They deserve happiness after everything they have been through.” 

“I agree.” 

Ben let the silence fall for a few moments before deciding to try again. “I have had several talks with the King about what it is I am to do now.” 

“And?” 

"And it is time for me to retire from the Guard,” Ben said. “I will still help put the new knights through training and help Poe and Snap come up with exercises in preparations for a major battle, but my days of riding out with them are over. A new role will be established where I will learn the ways of kingship from my uncle in preparation for the future.” 

Rey sighed. “I am so relieved to hear that.” 

“I thought that you would be,” Ben said softly. “I apologize for being so selfish. I should have retired from the Guard after the battle with Lord Snoke as my responsibilities were changing, but I hadn't wanted to give up the life that I knew. By not doing that, I put myself in harm's way and nearly cost you your husband and our child their father. So, I am sorry for doing so. It will never happen again.” 

“You weren't being selfish, Ben,” Rey told him. “You were just trying to have everything at once. But I am very happy to know that I will never have to worry again about you coming back as injured as you were, or having to suffer through you not having survived the battle at all. I do not know how I could do any of this without you.” 

“You will never have to, I assure you of that,” Ben said, turning to kiss her hair. “I have also spoken to the King over the fears I had for the succession should our child be a daughter and us not blessed with another child, or us blessed only with daughters.” 

Rey sucked in a sharp breath. “And he said?” 

“He said that should that scenario arise, then Galactica will just have to prepare for its first Queen Regnant.” 

Rey felt more relief go through her. “That is wonderful to hear. I have been so terribly worried that a daughter would have been a disappointment.” 

“Our child will never be a disappointment,” Ben told her strongly. “Our children are to be the future of Galactica, a future that will now always be bathed in sunshine.” 

“I can think of nothing that sounds better,” Rey said, smiling. 

The silence fell once more, and Ben could never remember feeling so at peace with everything in his life. He looked over at Rey and saw her eyes closed, and he bent to kiss her hair. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he would be forever grateful for their chance meeting in the attendants' mess hall late that night. That was the night that changed not only his life, but Galactica's history, and it changed it all for the better. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> use your imaginations from there because I don't write Reylo babies.
> 
> thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. And if you did, please let me know!


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